Strangers in Paradise
by Beth - Geek Chick
Summary: AU/Canon somewhat. Same characterization, pre-Season One. A horrendous plane crash strands Annie Walker and Auggie Anderson somewhere between Miami and Bermuda where they wind up fighting against the elements, Mother Nature, and themselves.
1. Chapter 1

Where the Atlantic started brushing up against the Americas, as they'd been known for several hundred years, the ocean floor rose up here and there before the large land masses of two thinly connected continents burst up and beyond the tidal depths.

The islands rose and fell due to the planet's restlessness, but were quite unknown until ships started to cross their paths.

And despite man's curiosity and incurable want to conquer and take and use every protuberance of rock that thrust up through the ocean, a few of those islands refused to be settled permanently. Not because of some magical curse or anything like that. Just, sometimes, the land won.

There was one such land mass that, viewed afar via satellite, looked beautiful, picturesque, the perfect setting for a beach house retreat. But it currently sits alone, abandoned, with nothing to even hint that nothing alive except birds and other small beasts ever inhabited the place.

Well, not nothing, per se. At one point a few people had ventured onto the island. For whatever reason, stones and lands were moved to create a conical building of sorts on the rocky western outpost. It lit up the sky for many years, but like anything else, it, too, began to fall apart and decay, the light dimming until it went out completely, and no one ever came to relight it.

The island didn't mind. It seemed to take it in stride. Nothing lasted forever. Until that fateful end, however many millennia in the future that was, the island woke with the gleam of the sun on the horizon, and bask in moonlight every few weeks.

It'd been like this, quiet and peaceful, with only the occasional heavy storm passing through for many years until something happened to break up the peace once again. The sound was deafening, rivaling the yearly hurricanes that passed through and around the area.

Then, once the unnatural sounds of manmade metal screeching and exploding faded away, a more natural sound of shouts and screams filled the air.

The plane, smaller than some that graced the skies over the island, had split in two. Where the fire exploded in the front, propeller and glass ripped away at the wings and doused into the raging waters. The other half, perhaps helped or hindered by the wings, glided further toward the island, sliding along the water's surface like a surfer until it landed, with its twisted and gaping maw forever open.

The crash echoed around the island, sending every living creature, regardless of size, scurrying for home or help. Nature itself was loud and violent at times, but nothing compared to the sounds mankind can create. Thankfully, the sounds, the crash, the grating of metal on rock, water, and sand settled.

Then new ones emerged. A short scream, yelling. The half-plane that now sat on the east side of the island pushed further against it with every ebb and flow of the tides. One saving grace, it seemed. It was not being pushed back out into the vast ocean.

Ever more fortunate as out of the maw where the plane had split in half crawled two people.

* * *

Adrenaline was a wondrous thing. Annie Walker hoped hers would last a while longer. She'd barely had time to "assume the crash position" before a horrendous tearing and screeching sound rushed through the small plane's interior. The pilot's voice had echoed though only moments before. "Shit! Brace yourselves!" Part of her wanted to jump out of her seat with a "What!?" But even as the thought passed through her head, her body was checking her seatbelt and bending into a crouched position.

There were too many sounds to know what was going on. Air rushing, metal ripping and tearing, jostling of seats and equipment. They were going down, and the last thing Annie saw was water. A supposed easy flight from Miami to Bermuda.

She hadn't been paying attention to the time, but the flight left at 7:00 a.m. They'd be there before lunch. Were they closer to the States or the island?

Way too many what ifs flew through her head as she was jostled around in her seat. The final thoughts were a prayer. "Please stop. Make it stop. Make it stop."

Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The movement settled to a rocking, and she swore she heard the sound of water sloshing. With a deep breath, she sat up and opened her eyes. The plane was no longer in the air, that much was for certain, and where the front of the plane used to be was now open to the sky, rocks, and ocean water.

She had to get out, she knew. There was no way she was going to let a twisted wreck of an airplane serve as her casket. She carefully climbed out of her seat and squeezed down the aisle. The seats seemed to have been jostled out of their frames. Halfway there, a scream tore from her throat as something clamped onto her arm.

Looking down, Annie saw a man lying on a couple of seats. Shit, she thought. In all the confusion and desperate need to escape, she'd forgotten that there was another passenger on the plane.

His hand grasped onto her, nearly pulling her down. "Please, help me." She hadn't noticed when she boarded the plane, but his wild eyes and flailing limbs showed her that he couldn't see. She grasped his arm with both hands to pull him up to her.

"Wait! What happened? What's going on?"

"The plane crashed!" Annie replied. "We have to get out."

"Get the pilot or that steward guy."

The crew, Annie thought, was probably with the rest of the plane. "They're gone. We have to go."

He resisted, but as the plane creaked, groaned, and moved under their feet, she became desperate. "We have to get out of here! You can either come with me or sink with the plane. Your choice."

He swallowed visibly and nodded. "Let's go."

Somehow, some way, they made it out of that wreckage. Her passenger holding tight to her shoulder as she stepped forward, up and around, giving him detailed instructions to do the same. Finally, they made it to the hole where the cockpit once was. Jagged metal stuck out everywhere, but to Annie's relief, the plane had landed on, well, land. A cliff face stood to one end, a dozen or so feet up into the sky, but the plane carcass had somehow wedged to one side of it, where rocks and sand were routinely washed by the lapping waves.

Climbing the cliffs was obviously out of the question, so Annie carefully stepped off of the edge of the plane and onto the closest rock that thankfully did not shift beneath her weight.

Turning, she grabbed the man's hand and guided him to her. A sigh of relief escapeds her. They rock-hopped a few more times until they made it to the base of the cliffs, where a flat portion jutted out at the bottom, and they both sat down.

As the realization that she wasn't dead or hurt sunk in, Annie bent at the waist, put her face in her hands, and concentrated on breathing. Whether or not tears were rolling down her face she couldn't tell, nor did she care. She couldn't think of anything at the moment.

A hesitant touch on her shoulder made her jerk up.

Her fellow passenger that she'd almost forgotten was there.

"Are you okay?"

A half-laugh escaped her lips at the question. "Okay? I almost died."

"I mean, are you hurt anywhere?"

She shook her head, "No, other than the fact that I'm about to have a panic attack or go into shock. I haven't decided yet."

His hand moved down her arm until it met hers that still rested against her face. With a slight tug, he pulled it away to hold it between hers.

"Just breathe."

"I think that's about all I'm capable of doing at the moment."

"And you're doing a great job. Can you tell me your name?"

His hands, deceptively smooth and thankfully strong, gave Annie a physical anchor, and she held on as she spoke.

"Annie Walker."

"Annie Walker. My name's August Anderson, though most call me Auggie."

"Auggie," she repeated.

"Yep. I hate to press you, but can you tell me if anyone else made it?"

At this, Annie blinked her eyes to clear them of the tears and focused on him. His hand still held hers, and though his head was turned toward her, the eyes were unfocused. Normally, her compassion and empathy would kick in, but up until now he was the one consoling her.

A hundred questions pressed on her about him, but she batted them away and answered. "Not that I could tell, no. It was only us, the pilot, and the flight attendant. The plane - half of it's gone, Auggie. They must have -"

His hand clenched around hers as the brunt of her half-finished sentence and the obvious fate of the plane's crew washed over them both.

Annie looked as far as she could around them on the water, the land. There was nothing else.

"I don't see anything. What could've happened?"

"I don't know. I had my earbuds in when I felt the plane lurch. You?"

"I was just dozing when I heard the pilot yell out for us to hang on. I did look out the window, but I didn't see anything. And then I put my head down, closed my eyes, and started praying."

A silence enveloped both of them, and Auggie released her hand. She almost missed the strength she felt when he held it, but Annie settled herself to sitting beside him o the rock and trying to think.

By this time, she thought she'd be checking into a swank Bermuda hotel, one last flash of enjoyment and travel before presenting herself to Camp Peary to begin her new life as the newest recruit for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Her date of arrival was two weeks from now. But, looking around, she knew there was no way she could. They'd been in the air a while before the crash, so they were somewhere in the Atlantic, and unless Bermuda was a very quiet island where a horrendous plane crash could occur with no one hearing or seeing it, they were nowhere near the holiday destination.

* * *

Note: Been such a long time since I posted anything, feels almost weird doing this. I'd been wanting to do a stranded on a desert island story for a long time. But for some reason, could not think of a decent, original storyline that hadn't already been done. I tried this somewhat same setup with Penelope and Derek from Criminal Minds, but deleted it 'cause it wasn't working. So I grabbed my favorite couple and have been sculpting this thing for months now. Free time is very little for me nowadays, and when I do have some, I'm too brain-tired to think straight.

The fact that I'm actually able to post part of it as Chapter 1 is a miracle, actually.

Enjoy, and please review/favorite/follow, pretty, pretty please with sugar on top.

-Beth


	2. Chapter 2

Though Annie had traveled across the world and back again, she had no working knowledge of the tropical islands that lay between the U.S. and the Eastern world. Were they alone? Could they survive? Would anyone come to rescue them?

The questions came hard and fast, but Annie shook her head to clear them away. The adrenaline rush had left her tired and disoriented, but it also gave her energy to climb out of the wreckage and save Auggie in the process. She had to believe everything would be all right. Life had yet to give her a challenge she couldn't handle, and she'd be damned if it did now.

"I'm going to go back in, see if I can salvage anything. Will you be okay here?"

"Is it safe? The tides move fast around here, I hear."

Annie looked at where the fuselage lay. With the sweep of the waves, it was more or less wedged onto the rocks and not moving back out.

"I'll be careful."

"Could you just keep talking so I know?"

The next half hour was a mix of harrowism, humor, and expended energy as Annie carefully navigated the rocks, waves, and the slight lurch of the fuselage as she moved around it. Hers and Auggie's carry-ons were still in the overhead bins, so she went for those first. Their luggage, she knew, was under the plane and probably soaked - and she wasn't in the mood to scuba dive right then.

Auggie suggested checking the other bins to see if the crew had stored any provisions. She found the crew's carry-ons, as well, and a decent first aid kit. What Annie was hoping to find was some kind of food. She'd only had time for coffee in the morning, and the flight was non-meal, only a snack, which they hadn't been served yet.

After getting everything she could out and onto the rocks, including Auggie's cane, Annie sat back down beside Auggie to catch her breath. He'd been going through the provisions as she'd deposited them on the beach and immediately held up a bottle of water and a prepackaged sandwich from the foodstuffs case.

"There wasn't much in there, but you've expended a lot of energy there."

"Thanks. I didn't have time for breakfast."

They spent a somewhat silent next few minutes eating the plain but delicious ham and cheese sandwiches.

"Didn't happen to find a bottle of mustard in there, did you?" Annie asked with a laugh.

"Sorry, no condiments."

While they ate, Annie started to feel more clear-headed and settled. She really shouldn't have skipped breakfast that morning.

She took the opportunity to study her fellow strandee. In the rising heat of the morning, he'd removed his long-sleeved shirt and sat there in worn jeans and a white tee. The well-muscled form of his body that she'd gotten a hint of while they were climbing out of the fuselage was on display now, and she ran an appreciative eye over him.

His hair was dark and wavy, falling over his forehead and neck. Strong jaw and chocolate brown eyes. Damn, Annie thought. How did she miss him getting on the plane?

He did have a point, however. It was getting hot, so she removed her blouse and smoothed the tank down that she wore in lieu of a bra for comfort. She pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail and secured it with the band she perpetually wore around her wrist.

"So, how do you want to do this?" she asked.

A half-smile, almost a smirk, appeared on his face. "You mean, are you going to have to hold my hand while I stumble around?"

The light tone took out any sarcasm of his question, and Annie smiled. "Well, I was trying to be polite."

"If we were forced to share a hotel room for a week, I'd agree with you, but we're far from the Hilton"

"You're right. So, practicality is the name of the game, huh?"

"You got it. I know I'm putting a lot of pressure on you, Annie, and I'm apologizing now for everything you're gonna be forced to do for me, for us."

The sincerity and sweetness on his face touched Annie, and her hand immediately reached out to cover his. "Don't even think about that, August. I'm just thankful neither one of us was hurt."

He turned his hand to clasp hers and gave it a squeeze. "I think we'll make a great team, Annie."

"So do I."

Fortified with food, water, and a new friendship, Annie and Auggie made quick work of splitting the provisions between their two carry-on bags that they strapped across their backs.

Annie provided Auggie with a general rundown of the area so they could decide where to break camp. The rocks and sand where they crashed as far as she could tell, were subject to too much wind and tidal ebb and flow to stay there much longer. The discoloration of the cliff behind them showed that the tide came up at least a few feet higher than it was at the moment.

The rocks stretched up at least a couple of stories, and Annie could see nothing but sky from where she stood. But around to the north, there seemed to be a stretch of sand and rocks that wound around.

She offered to scout ahead and come back for him, but the stricken look on Auggie's face had her immediately changing her mind.

Slower than she was used to hiking, but at a decent pace, Annie walked deliberately but steadily ahead, giving Auggie a running commentary on where to step and what to expect.

Auggie's cane gave a steady click clack behind her as he stepped with purpose. Luckily for them, she thought, the large rocks and boulders were only on that east side where they cashed, and as they rounded the cliffs, the island seemed to transform into what she assumed a tropical island would look like - trees, sand, lapping waves, and high grasses.

"Getting kind of quiet up there, Walker," Auggie shouted out.

"Sorry, Auggie. Just trying to figure out the layout here."

"Well, from what I can tell, the ocean's settled down to our right, and there's more trees to our left, so we've cleared the rocks. Also," he continued," tapping his cane on the ground, "we've hit sand."

"Right on all accounts."

"Is there a place between the water and the trees where we can start to set up camp?"

Annie looked around. The beach stretched in front of them a few hundred yards, then seemed to curve around. "Should we settle down so quickly? Wouldn't you rather scout around a bit, see if there's anything to this island first of all?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I hear nothing but some birds and waves. The sound of that crash would've had people running, if there were any here. The first rule of survival is find shelter first."

Annie couldn't help but agree with his logic, but she knew if she were by herself, she'd walk every inch of this island before even thinking about settling down to wait for rescue. But she wasn't by herself. Auggie, though he seemed capable and confident, was still dependent on her eyes, and so she pushed aside her exploratory streak.

"Okay. There seems to be a natural indentation in the trees up here. We'd be away from the tide. The seaweed and debris doesn't go that far."

"Then lead the way, Walker," Auggie said.

"Do you want to follow my voice, or should I push you from the back?" Annie asked with a half-laugh.

"Funny," he said, rolling his eyes. "Normally, I'd just hold someone's shoulder or elbow."

She walked back to him and brushed her arm up against his. His hand automatically came up hers and loosely settled along her upper arm. "Let's go, then. For one, I'll be glad to get out of this sun. I packed a hat, but it's in my suitcase."

Once they got to where Annie noticed a small, natural horseshoe-shaped indention in the stands of palm and bamboo, she dropped her packs, as did Auggie, and they both sat down.

"Wouldn't happen to have a pup tent and a couple of sleeping bags in your carry-on, would you?" Annie asked.

He shrugged, "Not what you'd call a pup tent, no, but I always carry a couple of survival blankets."

As the sun crossed from directly overhead throughout the afternoon, Annie and Auggie set up what she thought was a fairly high-end campsite. She'd pictured sleeping on the ground, covered by whatever clothing they had between them. Her fellow camper, however, once she detailed their layout and where everything was, moved as if his blindness wasn't even a factor. Lengths of bamboo were harvested and, with the use of sturdy trees and palm fronds, they'd lashed together a strong and surprisingly comfortable platform they both could recline on.

The sun was getting low in the sky by the time they were done, and they lay back, attempting to get their breath back.

"You've got some skills, Auggie," Annie said.

"Got a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Boy scouts?"

"Nope."

"Survivalist parents?"

"Ha, no."

He didn't expound or offer any other information, and Annie had to admit she was intrigued and confused at the same time.

"Are you a fan of those Doomsday shows?"

His face crinkled up at that one, and he turned towards her. "Doomsday shows?"

"You know, those people that live up in the mountains, thinking the world's going to come to an end, so they spend all their time stockpiling goods and weapons."

"You go from boy scouts to extremists? Surely there's a middle ground there."

"Well, you're not giving me much to go with here, you know."

"There's lots of ways people can learn things, Annie."

And with that, he sat up on the platform and stretched. Then, to Annie's widening and appreciative eyes, he pulled his t-shirt up and off and shook it out, laying it out beside him.

Whether he did that to distract her from prying questions or he was actually hot and sweaty, Annie didn't know. What she did notice, however, was the black ink spread between his shoulder blades. The tattoo was intricate and beautiful as it stood out from his muscled, tanned back. What it also was, was something Annie recognized immediately. Growing up an Army brat, she'd seen variations of the tattoo on soldiers at the various bases her father was stationed at, and she'd asked him about them.

Her mouth twisted up in a smirk. So that was his "secret," Annie thought. It was on the tip of her tongue to call him out on it, but she remained quiet. If they were in the "real world," their time would be limited, but here and now, they had nothing but. Besides, how they got their camp set up wasn't really a factor at this point. Survival and rescue were the only things that mattered at the moment.

* * *

 **Note: Ahhh, so Annie's found out his "secret." Will she share hers, as well?**

 **Thank you all so VERY much for the warm welcome back. Readers from past and new ones, as well, I thank you for kind words and reviews and follows. Let's hope through this forum we can keep the idea of Annie and Auggie alive.**

 **I'm going to try to publish about weekly and write throughout as much as I can, instead of just writing, then publishing, like I used to do. This way, I don't feel so rushed, and you're not waiting if I run into a stumbling block.**

 **I know it's a holiday weekend, so I won't freak if the feedback isn't instantaneous. I'm not all that into New Year's as a celebration, but have fun if you are. :)**

 **-Beth**


	3. Chapter 3

"It's getting on in the day," she said. "Now that we've got this set up, I was thinking of going back to the plane and seeing if there was anything else worth salvaging."

He started visibly, and Annie thought she saw a look of panic cross his features before he smiled easily and said, "Okay, but same as last time. Keep talking so I know you're all right."

"Auggie, we've walked a couple hundred yards, and there's a cliff face between us. I doubt you'd be able to hear me."

"You're right. Wait, hold on."

She watched as he rummaged in his pack for a minute. Soon he turned to her and held his hand out. "Here. Use this every five minutes, at least."

Annie plucked a silver whistle out of his palm. "You carry a whistle around in your carry-on luggage?"

He shrugged, "Being prepared isn't only a Boy Scout motto."

No, Annie thought to herself. It's also the motto of military establishments, and if her knowledge of tattoos was correct, Auggie spent time in the Army's branch of Special Forces. Why he was being so tight-lipped about that fact still had her confused, but she figured she'd find out soon enough.

She put the whistle to her lips and gave it a try. The piercing sound carried long and loud. "Okay, then. Thanks. I'll be back before you know it."

"Be careful."

Annie reached out a hand to his shoulder and squeezed it. "I'll be fine, okay?" He nodded, and she turned back to the rocks.

It'd been several hours since they left the plane, and to her astonishment, it sat higher up on the rocks and sand. The tide and waves seemed to have used their ceaseless momentum to move the large vessel.

And for the first time that day, a true smile lit Annie's face. She ran the rest of the way to the plane carcass, nearly shouting with joy as she noticed the underside was now visible, including the hatch that held their luggage. It took a lot of tugging, but the same adrenaline rush that she used to pull her and Auggie out of the plane to begin with helped to release the door.

The compartment inside wasn't that big, and she was able to pull out her own slightly battered, but thankfully dry and unopened suitcase. Another one's tag had Auggie's name on it, so she grabbed it, as well. A third, which she thought was Auggie's, also, had another's name on it, and her euphoria dimmed a little as she recognized the first name as the one on the tag of their steward.

Throughout the afternoon, as they worked, she wondered what happened to them and the rest of the plane. She'd look out onto the ocean and the horizon for a hint of anything, but they were well and truly alone.

With a silent prayer, she took that case, as well, and set it up on the sand with the others. She gave a long, loud whistle to Auggie and then climbed around to the gaping hole she and Auggie had climbed out of. Now that the fuselage was more stable and not sloshing in the water, she took her time to look in every overhead compartment and open every hatch that was visible.

A stack of airplane blankets, not very comfortable, but warm, nonetheless, went with the suitcases. Other items she left in place, as they would serve no practical purpose, but she mentally cataloged them for possible future use.

In the back compartment, where she'd gotten all of the food earlier, she scoured, hoping to find more provisions. Surely the crew had more than just that snack for their only two passengers for that short flight. She'd just about given up when she pulled open a drawer to find an stash of energy and protein bars. She stared at it a few seconds before hastily grabbing all of them up, not even bothering to count them, but there were at least a few dozen.

They got stuffed into her suitcase, and she decided to head back to Auggie with what she found so far. One final blast on the whistle, and she picked up hers, Auggie's, and the steward's suitcase, taking a second to balance them between her arms. Adrenaline and need to get shelter was motivating her thus far, but she didn't want to risk her health any further. She'd take this stuff to their campsite, then settle down for the day.

Once she rounded the cliffs, the campsite came into view, and she prepared to shout to tell him her lucky find, but the words died in her mouth.

Her feet stuttered to a stop and she nearly dropped the suitcases at the site of a thin plume of smoke drifting into the sky, and Auggie squatted down next to a small campfire, ringed with rocks.

Nearly running to him, she dropped the suitcases down next to the fire. "What - how -"

"Well, the 'what" is a fire, and the 'how' is ancient Chinese secret," Auggie replied with a chuckle. "It's still warm out, but a fire is always good to have to keep predators away, and you never know how chilly the air's gonna get once the sun goes down. Plus, if we add some green wood, it'll smoke bigger and attract someone to come rescue us."

Annie scoffed and rolled her eyes. "And here I thought I was going to be the one with the surprises."

"I heard you drop something. Find the stash of airplane blankets? We could line the bed with them."

"Well, yes, but that's the least of the good news." She picked up his suitcase and sat it beside him. "The tide and waves pushed the plane further up on the rocks. I was able to get our suitcases out."

"Annie Walker, I could kiss you," he said. His fingers nimbly opened the case and felt over the insides.

Annie did the same thing, leaving the steward's case for later. She still felt bad about taking the missing man's belongings. She put the blankets on the platform and turned back to her suitcase.

The first thing she did was remove her shoes and socks and slide a pair of leather sandals on. "We could use the fire to dry out our clothes, too," she said, laying her water-soaked socks and sneakers on the rocks before the fire.

"Not sure I should let you use it, since you scoffed at it," he teased, pulling a new t-shirt over his chest.

"It wasn't a scoff. It was more like, where were you hiding the lighter?"

He smirked instead of answering, and Annie shook her head at him. She knew damn well that he probably struck two rocks against each other to make the fire, yet he still refused to admit the extent of his knowledge. Well, she thought, two can play at that game. Annie Walker wasn't without skills, either.

"Fine, Mr. Mysterious. I also found a stash of energy bars in the plane's hold."

His head jerked up, and instead of the flirty smirk that was almost tattooed on his face thus far, a genuine smile was aimed her way. "Now I think I really will kiss you."

Annie was momentarily blinded by his smile and words, but shook it off. This wasn't even close to being the time and place for flirtation, despite how intrigued she was by Auggie Anderson.

"No need. We're on survival mode now. What's mine is yours, and vice versa."

"You're right there, though I doubt you'd be rifling through my boxers any time soon."

Whether it was the heat of the day or the exhaustion that was creeping up on Annie, Auggie's flippant, flirty attitude was starting to get on her nerves. "Do you always talk to women like you're chatting them up in a bar?" she asked.

He'd been in the process of removing his shoes and socks, as well, to dry out by the fire, but froze at her words. "No, no. Just trying to make conversation."

"And you usually tell everyone you 'converse' with about kissing them and your underwear?" she asked.

He had sandals in his suitcase, as well, and he pulled them on before wrapping his arms around his knees and looking at her. "I have a feeling you and I need to start over."

Annie humphed and grabbed an energy bar and one of the bottles of water. Rationing be damned, she was tired and grumpy, and Auggie wasn't helping her mood. That ham and cheese sandwich that served as both breakfast and lunch had long emptied her stomach.

"Or not," he said when Annie didn't answer. "You are right. I've been trying to keep things light, and if that's irked you, I'm sorry. I was just trying to look out for you and help. So, I promise, no more jokes about kissing you or trying to steal my underwear."

Aside from that first conversation on that rock once they'd crawled out of the plane that morning, that was the first thing he'd said without a smirk on his face. "I'm sturdier than you assume me to be, Auggie. What's your last name, anyway? You never said."

"Anderson."

"Anderson, I'm stronger and much more resilient than you assume me to be."

"Glad to hear it," he replied with wide and honest grin that, Annie had to admit, was much better than the teasing one that'd graced his lips almost ever since they met. She handed over another bar to him, and they both lounged back next to the fire, eating their supper.

* * *

 **Note:**

 **No words for how happy I am with everyone's interest in this little story. I have a lot of ideas for it, including some surprises and things you might not expect. But one thing you always know I'll do is keep it a bit funny and romantic, with a sweet, happy ending. :)**

 **This week went by so fast, that I just realized it's Friday and a week since I posted the last chapter. I had enough to upload a chapter or two, just never had time or energy to get around to it. So, sorry for the delay, but hope you enjoyed it.**

 **-Beth**


	4. Chapter 4

The silence between them was easy, with the fire crackling away at the dry grasses and wood. Their beach and encampment faced North, and the setting sun was throwing long shadows.

"If we'd walked a bit further around, we could've been watching the sunset now," Annie remarked.

"Maybe another night. I've just been sitting here, thankful to just be alive, ya know?"

"There is that." Annie finished off her energy bar and washed it down with a hefty swig of the water. It was warmer than she'd like it to be, but, she thought, everything was going to be a little harder, a little warmer, and a little more uncomfortable than she would like them to be.

"So, what's next on the agenda, Auggie?" she asked.

"Well, though I'd like to believe that come morning, a rescue helicopter will be circling the island, waiting to pick us up, we have to live as if it'll be one day or one year before we're rescued."

A shiver went through Annie's body at the thought of more than a day or two stranded there. Then, unbidden, without even thinking about it, she felt tears streaking down her cheeks. An attempt to stop them resulted in a choking sob that, to her embarrassment, Auggie heard.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked as he tossed another length of wood on the fire.

"I'm fine," Annie tried to reply, but it came out garbled and only caused another shuddering gasp as she tried to control herself.

Without another word, Auggie moved from his side of the fire to sit next to Annie. She'd curled into herself, trying without much success to stop crying. "Come here, Annie," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Any reserve she had in her to stand on her own two feet was depleted, and Annie turned into his strength. Her head rested on his chest, and her fingers grasped weakly at his t-shirt. His other arm reached around to hold her fully. He didn't offer any words of encouragement or promises that they'd be all right, and Annie silently thanked him for that.

Several minutes later, the tears has stopped rolling, and Annie almost sheepishly extricated herself from his embrace. "Sorry about your shirt," she whispered, spying the wet blotch that bloomed across his shoulder.

"Mm, were you wearing makeup?"

"It's gone by now, so no, no mascara smudges," she chuckled.

"Then it'll dry. Are you okay now?" His hand came up to her back, and she nearly sank back into his strength again, but didn't.

"Yeah, guess I'm not as resilient and strong as I said I was, huh?"

"Yes, you are. You dragged me out of that plane, got me to safety, and retrieved our belongings - twice, might I add. I might not know much about you, Annie Walker, but you've got more courage than guys I've -"

He stopped abruptly and shook his head, then swallowed. "You're strong, Annie. Don't let a sudden rush of humanity stop you from thinking that."

Annie had an idea of what "guys" he was talking about. She'd wanted to brush it off, but given what all happened in the past ten minutes, decided now was the time for full disclosure. "Auggie, I saw your tattoo. There's no need to censor yourself around me."

He blinked, then opened his mouth, and she raised her hand against his lips to stifle what she was sure was a complete denial of her guess. "I've grown up on Army bases, even dated a soldier or two. Tattoos like that aren't what you get as a frat brother in college. Special Forces, right?"

His eyes closed, then he nodded. She dropped her hand from his mouth and turned his head to face her. "I'm not going to guess why you didn't want to tell me. Or couldn't, more than likely. So, let's just say you were a soldier who picked up some skills, huh?"

The smirk was back, but this time, it didn't irk Annie. "And what about you, Annie Walker?"

"What about me?" she asked, dropping her hand from his face. Whether or not she scooted a couple of inches away from him or not, she pretended not to notice.

"Quid pro quo, Clarice," he replied with an arched eyebrow.

Annie laughed aloud. "That has got to be the worst Anthony Hopkins imitation I've ever heard."

"Fine, fine. But seriously, all I know about you is that you're female, a couple of inches shorter than me, fit, and in your 20s."

"That about sums it up. I'm blonde, if you're wondering."

His eyes narrowed at her quip, and Annie could see that he was figuring out more ways to interrogate her, so she decided to change the subject. "I almost forgot to tell you. There was another suitcase in the hold. The name on the tag said Kris Cabe, our steward. I brought it with me, but you think we should open it?"

He took a breath and nodded his head. "As much as I don't want to accept it, I think both he and the pilot are gone."

"Yeah," Annie said quietly. "How about we only take what we need, but then put it aside? That way, I won't feel so much like a heartless looter."

"Sounds good to me. Why don't we go ahead and get it over with now, then we can do our own."

Annie pulled it over so that it sat between them and unzipped the large case. She really hoped it only contained a change of clothes and toiletries. If she found family photos or a child's drawing, she wasn't sure she could hold back another round of tears.

* * *

 **Note: See, I'm updating more often! :) I got about another 1,000 words banked and once I write beyond that, I'll add another chapter. Doing so this way makes sure I don't iss any plot points.**

 **Thanks to all you lovely readers and reviewers. Hi, YoreReader! Great to hear from each and every one of you.**

 **-Beth**

 **Side note. I just saw a BBC show with Ben Whishaw in it and had flashbacks to Covert Affairs. He's almost a dead ringer for our Auggie, don't you think? When they've both got longer, kinda shaggy hair. Mm, cutie pies.**


	5. Chapter 5

With a deep breath, she lifted the lid. The low light and flickering blaze lit up the contents enough, and Annie began to sort through it. "Well, there's a jacket on top here, looks like a windbreaker. That'd come in handy, I guess, when it rains here."

She pulled it out and sat it on the sand. "And, let's see - whoa."

When she didn't expound any further, Auggie prompted, "What is it? Drugs? Weapons? Porn?"

That last part of his question made her laugh, and she just shook her head. "Nope, nothing illegal, unless you count a decent bottle of booze as illegal. Guess Mr. Cabe was planning on hosting a private party when he got to Bermuda."

"Really?" Auggie asked, scooting forward. "What brand?"

"Tequila. Patron."

"Damn. Hand that firewater over, Walker."

Annie lifted the bottle out of the case and held it up. The clear liquid sparkled at her. "Brand new. Hasn't even been opened."

"All the better," Auggie said, extending his arm and wigglign his fingers at her.

"Hold up, Auggie," Annie admonished. "Do you really think it's a good idea to get drunk now? Alcohol's dehydrating, and we only have a few bottles of water left. Plus, we could use the alcohol for other uses, like first aid or starting a fire."

The look on his face was so dejected that Annie sighed and handed it to him. "Fine, you can have one shot."

"I'm not a lush, Annie. Geez," he teased as his strong fingers uncorked the bottle. "Besides, don't you think we deserve a toast after all that's happened today?"

Annie couldn't argue against that point, and after he took a drink and handed it to her, she took a small sip, as well. "Wow, that is good," she said.

"So, what else has our good buddy Kris provided us?"

Annie recorked the bottle and flipped through the contents. "Clothing, a couple sets. Shave kit. Guess he knew how to pack the essentials," she said. "I'm taking the shave kit out and the windbreaker. We can come back for the clothes if we need them later."

"Sounds like a plan. Besides the alcohol, I've got essentially the same gear. Plus some tech toys that I'm sure by now are useless," he said with a sigh. "But who knows? Maybe we're at the tail edge of a nearby island's cell tower."

"Crap, you're right," Annie said, shutting the lid on Kris's case and scrambling to her feet. "I never even thought to check my phone."

They both grabbed up their bags and, devices in hands, simultaneously groaned as almost identical "no signal" dings emitted from them. "Well, guess that's that," Annie said. "Other than playing some music, this isn't going to do much good."

"Same here. If I were home, I'd be able to cobble something together, but my workplace frowns on us taking home toys to play with. All I got is my phone, as well."

Annie's eyebrow went up at "workplace," but she'd pushed enough with outing his Special Forces history. Even so, she couldn't help but tease, "So, you don't have a microchip embedded somewhere that they can trace you with?"

He laughed aloud. "Wow, no way. Though, after this, I wouldn't be as averse to the idea."

With that, he stood, grabbed his suitcase, and took it over to the platform, Annie joining him.

With Kris Cabe's suitcase, as well, and the provisions case, they separated their clothes, perishables, first aid and toiletries. The cases then were placed along the end of the platform to keep them off the sand and out of reach of any crabs or crawling insects.

Annie thanked her luck at finding the blankets. Though she'd heard others extolling the comfort of sleeping on palm leaves, it really didn't appeal to her. Once the sun had set fully, a bit of a breeze kicked up off the water, causing a shiver to course through Annie.

She went back to the suitcase and pulled out some socks. "What do you plan on sleeping in? I can grab it for you."

"I should have a pair of sleep pants in there, black?"

Annie grabbed them and handed them over. "I promise not to look while you change."

He muttered something, and Annie could have sworn she heard the words "wouldn't mind," but she brushed it off. Now wasn't nowhere near the time to be flirting.

She couldn't think of anything else to do around their camp, so she climbed up onto the platform. It creaked beneath her, but she had to give it to Auggie. The thing was solid. She made a mental note to ask him about it in depth later, if and when he decided to open up more about his past.

The lean-to design blocked some of the evening breezes, and nestled between the utilitarian blankets with a rolled shirt as a pillow, Annie didn't feel all that uncomfortable.

"You know, I haven't gone to bed this early since I was in high school," Annie said with a laugh as Auggie climbed up, as well.

"I think I passed exhaustion about an hour ago, myself."

Annie tucked her pillow roll further under her head and looked out into the night. Auggie's earlier words that they might be there a year or a day kept rolling through her mind. Her worldwide travels included bivouacking in places not unlike where she was sleeping now, but the difference between then and now was that there wasn't a trained guide in a Jeep who'd show up in the morning to take her to civilization and an airplane ride home.

"You asleep yet?" Auggie whispered.

"Nope, just thinking."

"When you wake up in the morning, if I'm still sleeping, give me a nudge, okay?"

"Sure," she said, rolling onto her side to face him. He lay in his t-shirt and sleep pants, on his back with arms tucked behind his head. The fire lit up his face, and Annie was surprised to see more than a little concern there. "We're gonna be all right, Auggie."

A corner of his mouth turned up. "Thought it was my job to keep us safe."

"No, we keep each other safe. We're a team, remember?"

That brought a full-on smile, and he turned, as well, so they were laying side by side. "That we are. Should we think up power names?"

"What?" Annie asked with a chuckle.

"A power name for our team. Isn't that the thing to do nowadays?"

"Well, I'm all for the get-our-asses-back-home team. You have any ideas?" she asked.

"Not really. Just trying to think of anything but the fact that it's been about 12 hours since that plane crashed, and we haven't heard or seen anything that would resemble a rescue plane."

"Yeah, same here. But hey," she said, reaching over to grab his hand, "with your soldier boy knowledge and my world traveler resourcefulness, we'll be sitting here, sipping cocktails out of our coconut cups when they finally decide to show up."

That made him laugh, and Annie felt her heart skip a beat or two at the effect. Throughout the course of the day, she'd taken more and more notice of her fellow castaway, but they were busy working to make this camp. Now only a foot or so separated them, and he hadn't let go of her hand.

"No matter what, Auggie, we're gonna fight to get through this. Day one went pretty smoothly, so I think we're off to a good start."

"Yes, we are."

Then, to her surprise and thrill, he pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly before releasing it. "Good night, Annie."

She pulled her hand to herself and whispered, "Good night, soldier boy."

* * *

 **Note: Day 1 down. Yeesh. It'll be 100 chapters before anything happens here. LOL Thanks again for all the love. I'm glad everyone's enjoying our favorite couple on a desert island. I know I am. ;)**

 **I haven't read all the CA stories, but I don't think there's another story out there like this, is there?**


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning dawned much like every other since the day the island burst through the oceans into the oxygen-rich air. It was slightly unsettled, though, as two new lifeforms slumbered on its surface. The metal scrap of plane that'd fallen and dislodged the new inhabitants was still nestled against the cliff face, occasionally buffered by the tide as it rose, but tucked in tight, just the same.

Annie woke stiff and slightly sore from sleeping on an uncomfortable surface. For a few seconds, confusion clouded her memory as she blinked at the sight of the overhead trees and sound of ocean waves.

Then the events of yesterday rushed over the confusion, and she fell over onto her back with a groan. The crash, the panic, pulling herself and her sole cabinmate from that carcass of twisted metal. Auggie.

She quickly looked over at him. He lay on his back, arms tucked behind his head and his eyes open and unseeing. "Auggie?"

"So, I guess it wasn't a dream, huh?"

"No, unfortunately."

"I had hoped if I'd just stayed still, someone from room service would knock on the door, and then I'd know."

Annie sighed and sat up, rolling her arms around to get the kinks out of her shoulders. "Sorry to burst your bubble."

She hopped off the platform, immediately regretting not putting her shoes on first. Once she slipped her sandals back onto her sandy feet, she grabbed her toothbrush and one of the bottles with a little bit of water left in the bottom. "At least I'll be able to brush my teeth on a regular basis," she remarked.

"There is that," Auggie agreed as he joined her.

They both dressed and got ready for the day as best they could. Annie grumbled silently about the lack of coffee that'd served as her morning ritual for the past decade. By the time she finished repacking her case, she turned to find Auggie working on the fire that'd burned out during the night. "Are we going to need that?" she asked. The coolness of the night air was already dissipating.

"I thought maybe we'd heat up those ham sandwiches, have something slightly different for breakfast," he said.

"Mm," Annie replied. "Toast for breakfast. Almost feels normal. Now, if you could whip up some coffee with all your ninja skills, it'd be like I'd never left home."

"Don't say coffee. I mainline that stuff," he groaned, poking at the coals and holding his hands over them. Of all the tips and tricks she'd learned traveling all over the world and on Army bases, fire-building was something she had yet to master, so she watched with earnest.

There were a few piles of different-sized sticks and branches beside him, and he took the smallest of the kindling and stuck them into the pile of coals, causing a small flame to flicker up and lick against the dried sticks.

His hands hovered over his work, and, Annie guessed, he could tell by the amount of heat whether or not it'd caught. While the kindling took hold, he added larger and larger sticks until a good-sized fire was roaring away.

"That was hella awesome," Annie said.

"Thanks," Auggie replied with a wink. "See? No lighter, no secret incantation. As long as we can keep the coals hot, it'll relight if it peters out."

Annie ran to get a couple of the wrapped sandwiches. When she got back to the fire, he handed her one of two forked sticks he had. "I take it you've had s'mores, right?"

"Hand that stick over, Anderson. I am the marshmallow master," she said. "Well, bread-and-ham master I guess in this case."

She poked the bun onto one of the tines and gently stuck the ham onto the other, hoping it wouldn't fall into the flames. The sun had just begun to rise, and Annie guessed it was around 6 in the morning. Their north-facing encampment meant she couldn't see the sunrise, but faint light grew brighter by the minute.

They sat on a large rock next to the fire in silence as their breakfast warmed through, and Annie began thinking of what she would do today. Survival tactics at this point pointed towards food and water sources. They only had a few of the prepacked sandwiches left, and she knew they couldn't survive on a few dozen energy bars.

Once the ham slice began to sizzle, and the bread crusted into a light brown, she plucked it off the stick and began to devour it, Auggie following her soon after.

"So," she began, "I was thinking of going to explore this place a bit before it gets too hot."

Auggie nodded with a sigh. "I'd offer to come with, but you'd cover more ground without having me trailing behind."

"Yeah," Annie said. She could see the prospect of being left behind didn't hold that much appeal and teased, "Promise you'll leave a little Patron for me when I get back?"

He grinned and shook his head. "Promise, though it is tempting. I'm going to concentrate on getting some sort of signal posted in case someone is out looking for us."

"Good idea. I've got some knowledge of what's edible around here, so if you trust my foraging skills, we'll have more than a chewy energy bar and old sandwiches."

"You'll need my pocketknife, then, unless you've got one."

"Nope, only something small that was in my makeup case."

"Okay, well, leave that with me," he said. "I'm also going to try to figure out a way to get some drinkable water. Those few bottles we have left will only get us so far."

Annie dusted off her hands and stood. "Then I guess our day is set. Want me to take the whistle?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

Annie changed into her jeans and a t-shirt, and exchanged her sandals for the sneakers she'd worn on the plane, as they had sufficiently dried out overnight. She almost wished she'd packed a pair of boots, but tropical destinations called for bare feet or sandals.

Armed with a spare plastic bag she had in her suitcase for wet clothes, she headed out in search for...whatever. She had some knowledge of the local plants available in the tropics from her trips to the Bahamas and other islands in the area, but who knew where they were now. For all she knew, they were on a small island a mile or two from the mainland, and someone flying in would see their crashed plane or fire, and they'd be home in no time.

Before she left, she gave a loud blow on the whistle, just to make sure it's still working, and gave Auggie a reassuring pat on his shoulder before she headed into the trees.

* * *

She'd been walking for, by her watch, a half an hour, signaling to Auggie with the whistle every five minutes. Despite his reassurances that he knew she could take care of herself, the last thing she wanted was for him to get worried and try to come after her or get overly worried.

Maybe if she'd explained to him that, since she was old enough to trek on her own, she'd flown all over the world and hiked and camped alone on most of those trips. Annie was never a homebody, and her family's nomadic Army base to Army base upbringing fed into that. She'd lived in in dozens of countries, both with her family and without, and spoke six languages fluently - plus a couple that she could pass muster on.

Maybe when she got back to their camp, she thought, as she stepped around a thicket of bamboo trees. She could tell him about her past, but as was impressed upon her by her soon-to-be new bosses, her future was a zip-lipped, no-can-tell affair. The Central Intelligence Agency recruiter told her and everyone else that they could tell their families and friends whatever cover story they could come up with, but at no point were they to say they worked for a covert government agency.

So, the past was fair game to share, but as for her future, she could just tell him she was planning on continuing her travels.

"Yeah, that'll have to do," she said to herself as she stood still to take note of her surroundings and make sure she could find her way back.

And, as she looked around, up into the leaves and the blue sky, she saw it. At first, she just thought it was part of the rocky cliffs that made up the eastern part of the island. But no, those rocks were dark and jagged.

What she was looking at now, amidst the tall bamboo fronds and swaying leaves, was lighter in color, hard, and had the smooth lines of something manmade instead of the organic hardness and angles of nature.

She signaled Auggie with the whistle once more before turning towards the light-colored rock. She tried to keep her excitement level down, but just the thought of a structure here that showed it wasn't a desolate, completely isolated, deserted island made her heart race.

* * *

 **Note:**

 **So glad I'd waited a few days to try to post. Had a stressful stretch of days as of late, and anything I wrote was boring and unreadable. Finally had a relaxing evening, and with a glass of Moscato, I was able to push out the end of this chapter. And, finally, as noted by the last couple of paragraphs, the sort of "surprise" of this delightful little island, though it was hinted at in the first chapter.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it. Please reivew, leave a word. What do you think Annie found?**


	7. Chapter 7

For a few minutes, Annie thought she'd imagined what she saw. The overgrown bamboo thickets and brush made any forward progress slower than she'd like. Then, suddenly, the forest cleared, and she was standing at the edge of a rocky, sandy area, the ocean crashing into the rocks at the shore.

She'd apparently crossed the island to the other side, but what was that white, smooth rock that she swore she'd seen? Taking a deep breath to slow her panting, she walked out into the open area. To her right, the coastline stretched, the trees behind it stretching on for as far as she could see.

She turned around in a complete circle and nearly stumbled and fell at the sight before her. There it was, the white, smooth rock that had peeked at her through the trees stood in front of her in all its glory, towering above the cliff behind it that their plane had deposited them.

A lighthouse. Her breath escaped her lungs as she gasped. How, she thought. How had she not seen this from the beach? She shook her head in disbelief and began trotting towards the structure.

She'd seen many lighthouses during her travels, but they were either in use or were tourist-laden monuments. None of them resembled what stood before her now. The pillar rose up into the air, its conical, glass-emblazoned roof blazing in the morning sun.

Several small windows dotted the length of it to where it ended, a completely round building that was twice as wide at the bottom than it was at the top. A door at the front stood, imposing and heavy. She tried the handle, but it didn't budge no matter how hard she tried.

With a groan of frustration, she took a couple of steps back and looked at the building's surface. All the windows that she saw were small, the glass blocks firmly implanted by heavy lines of lead. Even trying to peek inside, she saw nothing due to the brightness of the sun.

She pounded against the side of the building. "Damn it!"

It was a stroke of luck that she'd found this building, but not worth anything unless she could get in. "Well," she thought, "Guess it's Auggie to rescue."

A smile lit up her face as she thought of his reaction to her find. Turning on her heel, she raced back across the clearing and re-entered the trees. She'd left broken branches and reminders behind so she could find her way back, but she took the time to clear the path a bit further so both she and Auggie could come back through.

By the time she'd made it back to the beach and their encampment, she was out of breath and was picking leaves out of her hair.

"Auggie!" she shouted.

He was sitting cross-legged next to the fire, work with his knife and a piece of charred wood. At her voice, his head jerked up. "Annie! I hadn't heard the whistle for a while. I was getting worried."

"Oh, sorry about that. I just wanted to get back to you as soon as I could," she said, dropping down onto the ground beside him. "You are not going to believe what I Just found."

"A stand of banana and coconut trees?" he asked, his eyes lit up with hopefulness.

"Nope. Wanna guess again?" she asked, nearly bouncing in her seat.

"Annie, come on, just tell me."

"Okay, fine. I went directly behind us through the trees and made it to the other side of the island. It - you - I still can't believe what I saw there, Auggie," she said, throwing her hands up.

"I'm not gonna believe it, either, until you tell me."

"A lighthouse, Auggie," she said. "On the other side of those cliffs, where we crashed, there's a lighthouse there."

His eyes blinked, then blinked again. "A lighthouse? What, are there people there? Is it a ruin? Why -"

"Shh," she said, raising a hand to his lips. "No people, no life of any kind. And it's far from being a ruin. I couldn't get into it at all. It's solid. None of the windows look broken, not even the top where the light would shine through."

"Wow," he said, a huge smile lighting up his face. He laid the wood on the ground. "And you couldn't get in it?"

"Nope. I think it's locked up tight, and I figured you could use some of your ninja skills to get us in."

His eyebrow twitched at that. "Ninja skills? Doubtful, but we do have that tool set you got from the airplane. I'm sure we could figure something with that."

"I knew you could do it!" Annie shouted. She grabbed his hands and helped him to his feet. "I'll get the tools and - oh, wait, you don't have a flashlight or anything, do you? Or was one in the toolbox?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. Why would you need one?"

"I tried looking through the windows, but it's pitch black in there."

"Huh. Does your smartphone have a flashlight feature? I think mine does, but, you know."

"Yes! I don't know why I didn't think about that."

Annie ran to get the small toolbox and her phone. She'd shut it completely off when they'd realized there was no signal to be found on the island, and a quick look showed that it was still in working order, and the light shone bright and clear. She shut it back off to save the battery, then put it and the tools into her carry-on bag.

"Okay, I got everything. Do you want to take anything else?"

He'd pulled his shoes and shirt on and grabbed up a bottle of water. "If you're hungry, we can take a couple of those bars."

"Good idea. I've got everything in my bag, so we can put the water and bars in there. Ready to go?"

He grabbed up his cane and held his hand out to grasp her arm. "Lead the way, Walker."

She bumped her arm into his outstretched hand, and once he got a firm grasp, led him into the trees. "I tried to clear the way as much as possible, but you will have to watch your step. The bamboo here is thick."

"Yeah, but bamboo stalks can hold water, I heard. Also, aren't the baby ones edible, like bamboo shoots?" he asked.

"Huh, you're right. We'll have to figure out how to harvest and eat them. I think I had it once or twice, but that served in a restaurant. Not sure what you have to do to get it edible."

They continued talking about the bamboo and other plants Annie described to him that she'd seen as they followed the path she'd made through the trees. Then, as they got closer to the end, she looked up again and saw the same flash of stone between the swaying tree tops.

"I saw it first from here," she told Auggie. "I was looking around, trying to keep my bearings, and saw a flash of white stone."

"So, we're almost there, huh?"

"Yep, just a little bit further," she said. "If we can get in, do you think it'd still be operational?"

Auggie laughed. "That'd be the ultimate rescue story, wouldn't it?"

"Hells, yeah! We could send a Morse code beacon out," she enthused.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, okay? First we have to get into the building, and if it's as locked up as you say, all this planning is for nothing."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Come on, Auggie. You got to have some faith."

Any further debate about the benefits of positive thinking were put on hold as the trees cleared, and Auggie and Annie stepped out onto the rocks and sand. "There's about 25 yards of sand and rock until the ocean in front of us," Annie explained. "And the lighthouse is over here."

"Then lead the way to our salvation," Auggie replied.

* * *

 **Note: Ta-da! The secret (one of them) of the island has been found by our intrepid duo. Took me a while searching for a decent old-timey lighthouse design that'd work for the story here. Hope you can "see" it okay through my description. Most lighthouses, I souaw, were tubes up with a separate house on the front, but I wanted a solid, few-stories high one without too much extra stuff.**

 **So, what'd you think? What you expected?**

-Beth


	8. Chapter 8

"The door's solid wood," Annie explained to him. "Looks like it opens in, 'cause I don't see any hinges. The knob itself is solid metal, and a hole below it for the key. I tried turning the knob, but it didn't budge."

She stood back and watched as Auggie worked what she still called "ninja skills" in her mind. With the same smoothness and dexterity he used while building the fire, and the help of a couple of screwdrivers from the plane's tool kit, a loud clank echoed, and with a forceful twist of the door knob, the heavy door swung open.

"Yes! Auggie, you are fabulous, you know that?" Annie gushed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders in a side hug. "Want to go in first since you're the one that got the door open?"

"Whoa, just slow down there, okay?"

"What are you talking about? This is our salvation, Auggie! As much as I love sleeping under the stars on your bamboo bed, this is an actual, sturdy structure!"

He held his hands up, "Just listen to me, okay?"

"Fine, what is it?" Annie asked with a frustrated sigh.

"You said all the windows are intact, right?"

"From what I can see."

"And this door is solid. We have no idea how long this has been shut up or what was left in there, or maybe what animals have been living in there. Other than that, if there's no airflow between outside and inside, the air's probably stagnant, moldy, or dried out, dead. We have to open the door, stand back, and let it air out first."

Annie felt her frustration begin to build. This was her find, and he was taking all the joy of the situation. Plus, despite their water, sandwiches, and energy bars, she was starting to feel the effects of malnutrition.

"Fine," she said with a huff. "Tell you what, while you perform CPR on the building, I'll recon around the building, see if there's a back door or whatever."

Without even waiting for his response, Annie walked off. Maybe she should've just grabbed the tools and came back herself to open the door, she thought. Whatever happened to Team Annie/Auggie, huh?

She stomped around the building, making note of a few other windows dotted here and there. Since she saw the first one, she wondered about their construction. A heavy block of clear glass held together and to the building by strings of lead.

Maybe once she got inside, there'd be something that'd denote what year it was built. All Annie knew was that it was nothing like she'd seen in her travels.

She continued walking around, but had to stop as the cliffs that their plane deposited them onto butted right up against the structure. It looked as if the builders had used the rocks as part of the construction, creating a buffer against the elements. Looking up, she saw the lighthouse's glass top level towered above the top of the cliff by about six feet - just enough for its glow to be seen from all around.

She really wanted to get up there, but Auggie was bound and determined to have them move at a snail's pace, which Annie did not subscribe to at all. Their supplies were dwindling, they were all alone, and who knew what lived beyond the small area she'd been able to see so far? Having a fully serviceable building to hunker down in would set her mind at ease, if anything.

She turned to the cliffs and noted that unlike the smooth, man-made stone of the lighthouse, the cliff was jagged, rugged, and surprisingly looked like it had ledges and crevices just big enough to serve as a foothold.

With a smile and a flashback to a rock climbing trek she'd done the year before, Annie began to clamber up the cliffs. It was surprisingly easy, and she wondered if the previous tenants did this, as well, maybe to clean the windows on the outside.

Soon enough, she was standing atop the rocky cliff and, because she didn't feel like taking a tumble back into the ocean, she decided to wait until she was back on solid ground to do a happy dance. The glass level of the lighthouse were still too high for her to see into, but looking out into the ocean, she could see now why she couldn't see the lighthouse from the plane or the beach where they camped. The cliff was deep, and even from where she stood, she couldn't see the plane nor the beach.

What she could see, however, was water. Lots and lots of water. And not one boat or vessel of any kind. She slowly did a 360 of the area, and nothing but water. Damn, she thought. It'd be so easy to see a boat, flag it down, and be on her way to Bermuda to finish up her vacation with an awesome story to tell.

With a sigh, she turned back to the island and decided to do a visual of what she could see. If she got into the lighthouse, she'd see more, but she saw plenty from where she was. This rocky area was the only rocky part of the spit of land. The rest was covered in flora and fauna, some of which she recognized, and she didn't. She did, however, recognize a few including what could swear were a few coconut trees. Yes, something else to eat, she thought.

And, was that a banana tree? She squinted as she stared into the foliage, but all the greens seemed to meld together, and she wasn't sure. It didn't matter. The coconuts would be enough for now, and she knew she saw some nasturium flowers as she'd hiked through the woods to get here. They were peppery as hell, but at this point, anything to fill her stomach and ease her mind would be welcome.

"Annie!"

Her name bellowed at her nearly threw Annie off of her balance, but she looked down to see Auggie standing where she'd climbed up the rocks.

"Up here," she shouted down to him. "I climbed up the cliff. Sorry to say, there's no ships anywhere to be seen."

His head lifted up at her voice, and she nearly giggled at the flabbergasted look on his face. His mouth even opened once or twice, but nothing came out.

"Take a step back. I'm coming down."

It only took her a couple of minutes to climb back down, using the same handholds she'd used going up, and once she landed, she turned to her fellow island dweller. He was still standing there with his mouth wide open.

"You'll catch flies like that, Auggie."

His mouth slammed back up, and his arms crossed across his chest. "You shouldn't have just walked off like that."

"And you should stop acting like you're in charge here," she retorted.

"Annie, come on, what if you had fallen, huh? I doubt I could carry you back to the camp, or find it, if that."

"Look here, General Anderson, I've free climbed higher mountains like that just for kicks, so I was in no danger. And I was able to get a good idea of the layout of this island, plus where some coconut and bananas might be found in the foliage behind us. You really need to back the hell down if we're going to get anything done here."

"Captain, actually."

"What?"

"I was a captain when all this happened," he said, waving his hand in front of his face.

"Oh, well, Captain Anderson, then. You need to back off."

"Been out of the game for two years, but you're right. I have been trying to take charge, when obviously, you are more than capable of taking care of yourself."

"Team, Auggie, remember that. We're a team. We work together, side by side."

The smile graced his face again, and he hooked out his elbow. "Well, then, fellow teammate, what do you say we check out the inside of this bad boy?"

* * *

 **Note: I've really got to get these guys kissing or something. Every time they get together, they wind up arguing. LOL But, I'm writing the story as it comes to me, and this is what the imagination's coming up with. Still perusing the inside of the lighthouse, what it's gonna look like. They'll cross the threshold next chap, I promise.**

 **So, thanks to everyone, new readers and old ones. Love seeing familiar names pop up in the reviews. :) BTW, the nasturium reference is from personal history. They may be edible, but whoo, they are peppery!**

 **-Beth**


	9. Chapter 9

This story WAS on hiatus for about a month, but I've gotten back to writing, so just skip this chapter and continue on with the story. If I simply replace this hiatus notice with the new chapter, a "new chapter" notification won't go out. Such is the fickleness of this website.

Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

Arm in arm, they rounded the lighthouse and approached the door that stood gaping open. "Did you hear anything inside while you were waiting?" Annie asked him. She peered inside, but the blackness inside rivaled a cave entrance.

"Nope. Nothing skittering around, so I think we're safe from critters."

"Okay, then," Annie said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned the light on. "Want to follow me in, or should I be the scapegoat?"

"I'll be right behind you, Annie. Let's do this."

A mix of anticipation and scariness rushed through Annie as she held the light in front of her and stepped across the threshold. She swung the light first toward the floor in front of them, just to make sure there wasn't a gaping hole there.

"Floor seems to be solid stone, like the stone out there. Looks like they built this directly on the ground."

Auggie's cane tapped behind her, and she cautiously took another step and swung the light up. A gasp escaped her lips as the beam of artificial light lit up the interior. She turned to the left and right, wondering if her eyes, overactive imagination, and perhaps gnawing hunger and thirst were playing tricks on her.

She must have been quiet for too long, for Auggie took another step in and collided directly with her back. "Hey, is something wrong? What's going on?" he asked.

"You're not gonna believe this, Auggie," Annie said with a disbelieving half-laugh.

"What?" he asked again.

"I think someone's living here," she said. "There's furniture. A desk with books, a couch, a rug on the floor, and a kitchen."

"Seriously? Like, recently? How much dust is around?"

"Stay here," Annie said, patting his shoulder before walking over to the nearest wall. Her phone light had lit up patches of black on the white stone walls, and as she got closer, she noticed that they were the windows, shuttered tightly from the inside. "I found the windows. There's shutters here."

They were closed with a simple latch, and she made quick work of unhooking and swinging them wide. There were four all the way around the interior, and soon enough, the inside matched the brightness of the outside. She shut off her phone and stashed it back in her jeans pocket.

"That'd explain why I couldn't see inside, if all the windows were shuttered," she said with a laugh. "I thought maybe they were painted over."

"Yeah, good, so we've got light in here. But, come on, why do you think someone's living here?" he asked.

Annie laughed. "I told you, it's furnished! I feel like I just stepped into a museum. You know, like the ones they set up to show you how people lived. Somebody's got to be here, Auggie!"

With a giggle of delight, Annie went straight to the wrought iron circular staircase that stood in the back of the great room. The height of the lighthouse and number of windows she saw from the outside pointed to their being another level prior to the glass enclosure on top.

She hurriedly clambered up the stairs. "You know, maybe they're just sleeping or something!" she shouted down to Auggie. "Hello!"

"Annie, no, wait!" Auggie yelled, but his protestations were for naught as the clang of hard soles on metal showed that Annie was, indeed, looking for someone that he knew wasn't going to be there.

"Hello!" Annie shouted again, but other than Auggie trying to hold her back, she heard no reply to her call. A bit of the light from downstairs filtered up through, but not enough, so she pulled her phone out again to see.

The small bit of hope she'd wanted so hard to believe in died as she saw the second floor, ostensibly the bedroom, was just as empty as the first. She looked further up the staircase, and just to satisfy her already dying fruitful thoughts that they weren't alone on the island, walked all the way up into the glass-enclosed perch. Nobody.

"Annie!"

Auggie's harsh voice echoed up the circular staircase, so she made her way back down, pausing only to open the shutters on the second floor, as well.

"I'm okay, Auggie," she said. "Disappointed, but all right."

"You know, I'm seriously considering tying a bell around your neck if you insist on running off on me," he said. Laughter was in his voice, but Annie could see that he wasn't all that happy with her.

"Sorry, I'll try not to do that again. I was just so hopeful, you know." She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, I do know. Actually, while you were taking your rock-climbing trip a little bit ago, I already shouted into the place to see if anyone was inside."

"And no one is."

"Nope. Well, if it's structurally sound, why don't we check out what's been left behind?"

For the next hour, Annie and Auggie pored over the entire lighthouse, but other than a couple of cheap paperbacks left behind, nothing personal remained of the former inhabitants. It was as if they or he or she had packed up and left when their lighthouse duties were up, and the next person simply didn't show.

Though they both were beyond grateful to have a sound roof and floor and walls, both Annie and Auggie wondered aloud at times when the previous tenant had left and what happened to the new one.

They were sitting on the couch taking a break from inventorying the place when Annie brought the topic back up. "I can't help but think something happened to the new keeper before they could get here."

Auggie stretched and leaned against the back of the couch. "Considering what happened to us, anything is possible."

"You do know we're smack dab in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, right?"

His mouth opened to answer, then shut and opened again. He shook his head and sat up. "Please don't tell me you believe in that stuff."

Annie huffed and crossed her arms. "I'm just saying, I've seen some freaky stuff as I've traveled around."

"And I'm just saying, let's not get ahead of ourselves with all this talk of the supernatural, okay?"

She shook her head in annoyance, but said, "Okay. Anyway, we've got to get a move on if we want to sleep here tonight. And I want to check out that sink and pump handle over in the kitchen area to see if it's still operational."

She walked over to the dark gray slate sink that was coated in the same thin layer of dust as the rest of the items in the building.

With a deep breath, Annie grabbed the heavy metal handle with both hands and lifted it. Its creak echoed throughout the room, and she winced against the sound, but continued to lift, then press down. The mechanics seemed fine, but other than the creaking sound, nothing seemed to be happening.

"Check to see -"

Auggie's advice was drowned out as the spout began to spurt and sputter and spit. Encouraged, Annie's arms steadily moved up and down, working the pump in a smooth, fluid motion that would make the most of the pump's mechanics. Auggie may have his own ninja skills, she thought, but she'd hiked through more than a few remote areas where the only water was from a central town well.

Soon, the sputter and spit of water became a trickle, and the grin on Annie's face tured into a full-blown smile as the trickle gushed into a full-blown stream of water. "Whoo-hoo!" she shouted.

"It's still working?"

Auggie's voice and the tapping of the cane moved across the room, but Annie didn't pay him any attention. With one hand, she continued working the pump, while the other reached for the rubber plug that sat on the sink. She plugged the hole at the bottom, and soon the sink was full of clear water.

"Please be fresh," she whispered, letting go of the pump handle. Though she longed to chug directly from the tap, Annie knew from experience how dangerous it was to drink water from an unknown source.

"Is it clear?" Auggie asked, coming up behind her.

"Yes," she answered. She scooped a handful of it up to her face and gave a cursory sniff. "I don't smell anything, but I guess we should boil it anyway first, huh?"

Auggie scooped his hand in, as well, and brought it close to his face. After giving it a long sniff, he dipped a finger in and brought it to his mouth. Annie opened her mouth to protest, but he quickly turned his head and spat the bit of water onto the floor. "It's freshwater," he said, a smile lighting up his face. "I mean, I still think we should boil it, but it's not from the ocean."

Annie squealed with delight and wrapped her arms around him in an impromptu hug. "I can't believe it!" she said. "We are so lucky, Auggie."

Auggie dropped the water in his hand back into the sink and returned her embrace. "That we are, Annie Walker. That we are."

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone for the continued interest in this story, despite my unforeseen need to break for a bit. Real life still a pain in the ass, but free time to write is coming back slowly.**

 **With that said, as always, please review.**

 **Thanks, Beth**


	11. Chapter 11

"Well, do you want to flip a coin for who gets to go get our stuff?" Auggie asked.

"Ha ha," Annie said, rolling her eyes. Even though the water she pumped wasn't useful yet for drinking, it was good for bathing, and she stood at the sink, splashing her face and running damp hands through her hair.

"So that's a no, then?" he said with a laugh.

"That's a no. It's getting late in the morning, and I'd like to not be moving around too much when it gets hot."

"Make sure you drink one of those bottles of water and eat one of those bars before you start hiking back here with the luggage, okay?" he asked.

Annie turned to him, her hands pulling her blonde locks up into a ponytail again. "I will. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel the effects of a few swallows of water and a couple of sandwiches, you know?"

"Same here," he said with a deep breath.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I saw some coconut and bananas trees when I was up on the cliff."

"Really?"

His eyes lit up so quickly, Annie laughed and gave him a light hug. "Sit tight, Anderson. The sooner we get settled, the better."

With that, Annie headed back into the sunshine and increasing heat. Thankfully, she thought as she headed back into the treeline, the white stone didn't suck in the heat, and the inside of the lighthouse wasn't as hot as it was outside. She still wanted to know why the lighthouse was there, who it belonged to, and why though it was obviously recently inhabited, no one was there now.

Later, she reminded herself. Questions that had no answers weren't going to get them fed and watered and sheltered, so she doubled her speed and got through the woods back to their campsite. Everything was still there, and she gave a cursory glance around the horizon, but like every other time, nothing but sky and water met her gaze.

She'd love to be able to take everything in one trip, but unless she grew an extra pair of arms, that wasn't possible. So, with an eye toward the essentials first, she repacked her bag with as much as she could and swung it onto her back. Then she opened hers and Auggie's suitcases and filled the empty space with as many blankets as she could and all the food and water that was left.

The bottle of tequila also found its way in there 'cause Annie was sure Auggie would come back for it himself if she left it. Kris's case was still left, and Annie left it sitting on their makeshift bed, covered with one of the blankets. If she had time and energy, she'd come back for it, but for now, it'd stay.

Once she stood, suitcase in each hand and backpack on, she set back off into the trees. The going was a bit slower without the use of her hands, but Annie kept her pace slow and steady and soon came back out on the other side.

"Auggie!" she shouted out as soon as she cleared the trees.

A smile came to her lips as she slightly panted with the effort to keep up her pace. Auggie had answered her call by coming to the front door of the lighthouse, a smile on his face and his hand raised in greeting. She couldn't help but think of the lucky girl who may be waiting for him back home or a girl in the future. One thing they hadn't talked about was their personal lives. Again, more questions, she thought, pushing them all to the back of her mind with the rest.

"I've got near everything," she said, her voice panting out. "Let me in so I can set this stuff down."

Auggie cleared the doorway, and Annie trudged in, never stopping until she got to the table where she set the suitcases down, then swung the leather backpack onto the surface. A heavy breath escaped her as her muscles shuddered with relief. Her hands immediately went to the backpack where she knew she'd put one of the remaining bottles of water.

Now that they had a decent water source, she didn't feel bad about chugging down about half of its contents. "I think I'm gonna rethink how much I pack next vacation I take," she joked.

She heard Auggie come up behind her, and then his hand heavy on her back and up to her shoulder. She'd still opted to wear her tank along with her jeans and sneakers, so his fingers grazed her bare skin, warmth upon what was already exercise-warmed skin, and she almost shuddered at the intimate contact.

"I'd say you didn't have to do it all in one go, but you'd probably argue with me," he said.

"Yes, I would," she said, taking another small drink before capping the bottle. "But my argument would be, one moderately paced hike with full pack is more efficient, time-wise, than two smaller pack hikes, no matter how fast I walk or run."

His hand, which had moved up to her shoulder, gave it a squeeze. "You keep surprising me, Annie Walker. Are you sure you've never served?"

"Nope, just a lot of this and that," she said. "Certainly nothing you can pick up in a classroom."

Her slight side-stepping of the issue didn't seem to sway Auggie, as he continued to stand right beside her, his arm across her back and his hand on her shoulder. Looking up at his face, he looked deep in thought. And though she liked the strength and warmth of the almost-embrace, it almost felt a bit too close for comfort.

She reached up, patted his hand, and took a slight step so his arm fell to his side. "So, what'd you get up to?"

"Just getting a lay of the place and checking out what's here. Is that a stove?" he asked, pointing toward a squat black hunk of cast iron that Annie had seen next to the sink.

"Don't know," she said. "Looks a bit small for one, but we could check it out later. How about we share one of our last sandwiches? Or would you rather have a granola bar?"

They settled back onto the couch with their lunch and water while Annie regained her breath and Auggie told her what he'd found while she was getting their stuff.

A wooden box stuck in the corner beside the sink held a couple of dinged pans, dusty, but still usable, and a set of metal dishes that Auggie said reminded him of the mess kit he had in the desert. Nothing else lay hidden around the place, no food, nothing.

The stove - or what looked like a stove or oven - resembled nothing like any stove Annie had seen in her life. Its black metal squat mass stood only about two feet off the floor, a small door in front, and smooth top.

After she'd finished with their meager lunch, she went to inspect it. The idea of a fresh water supply with the sink and pump made her not even notice the stove that sat beside it. "It looks like a miniature coal stove they used about 150 years ago," she said.

"Does it have a chimney or something?" Auggie asked. "Considering how tightly locked up this place was, there can't have been an open chimney anywhere."

Annie looked up the wall and saw a block of wood similar to the shutters that closed the windows. It, too, swung open on a latch, but instead of glass blocks, a perfectly round hole was there, and a rush or air blew in from outside.

"Well, I've got where a stovepipe would go out," she said. The hole was just above her height, so she tried to maneuver behind the stove to look out. A loud clang sounded as her shoe came into contact with something. "Ow!"

"Hey, you okay?"

Annie hopped out from behind the stove as the toes on her right foot throbbed with pain. "Yeah, I found the stove pipe. With my foot."

"Ouch."

"That's what I said," she said with a strained laugh. "Want to come over and check it out while I see if my toes are still attached?"

While Annie massaged her unbroken toes - she was sure they'd be bruised at the very least - Auggie deftly extricated the stove pipe, reassembled it, and attached it to the stove and hole in the wall. After seeing him create fire with near nothing, assemble a sturdy platform with bamboo and unlock a near-impenetrable door, Annie was beyond trying to figure out how he knew so much. Special Forces must be teaching their soldiers some high-end skills, she thought.

"Well, that's it mechanically. Whether or not it'll actually work is another question."

Annie slipped her shoe back on and tied it. "Well, how about I go back and gather some of the firewood and coals from our beach fire?"

"My thoughts exactly, but I'm coming with you this time."

"Auggie, you don't have -"

He raised a hand to silence her, then stepped forward, holding it out for her to grasp, which she did. "I appreciate your willingness to do all the grunt work, Annie, but let me do this, okay?"

His hand was as soft and comforting in hers as it was when it rested on her shoulder, and coupled with his nearness and sweet request, Annie found herself melting just a bit. "Are you sure?" she asked quietly.

He answered by shifting their hands until they were fully clasped. "Completely."

After grabbing up one of the metal pans to hold the hot coals in, the couple headed out of the lighthouse and into the bright sunshine.

* * *

 **A/N The prospect of shelter, water, and food seems to be settling our couple down, don't you think? :) Looking around online for lighthouse pics and what could be found inside them, I saw a picture of the stove I mentioned here. Looks almost like a dollhouse one, rather than one of those big ones they used in the past. Almost like a pioneer hot plate. :)**

 **Enjoy and please review. Life still a bit rough here and I could use some cheer.**


	12. Chapter 12

The trek back to the beach was slower this time around, but Annie knew Auggie was right. Treating him like he couldn't do anything without her help made everything more difficult and doubled her workload. With both of them able to carry things, they were able to harvest the fiery embers, some wood, and the steward's suitcase. Annie wondered out loud if they should deconstruct their makeshift bed, but Auggie pointed out that it'd serve as a hint to anyone who gets to the island that there are people on it.

It was going past noon by the time they'd gathered what they could and started the trek back through the trees. About halfway there, Annie stopped Auggie and crouched down onto the ground.

"Shoelace come untied?" Auggie joked.

"Nope," Annie replied. "Just getting a little something to snack on. I hope you like your food spicy."

"Those flower things you were telling me about earlier?"

"Yep. Nasturtiums. They grow like weeds, and both the flower and leaves are edible. Very peppery, but edible."

"Well, then, grab as many as you can. I'm game for anything at this point."

Annie pulled a string of the vine - about half of what was growing there - and looped it around her neck. She'd leave the rest to come back to later. "Let's get back to the house before the fire dies out."

They resumed walking, but Annie heard Auggie laughing under his breath. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Just the way you said, 'let's get back to the house.' Just sounded very domestic and cozy, is all," he said with a flirty grin.

The look and the wink he threw her way reminded Annie of just 24 hours ago when she snapped at him for comments about her. Now, though, she was almost grateful for it. Him flirting made her think that they were just two strangers in a hotel bar instead of being stranded on a deserted island.

"Yep, well, now that we're getting settled down, the prospect of us actually surviving this has gotten me feeling a bit better," she replied.

"I know what you mean. Though I've had plenty of nights sleeping in tents or under the stars, there is nothing like having four walls around you and a roof over your head, you know?"

Annie agreed, and they resumed their trek through the bambooed forest. Once they reached the lighthouse, Auggie went straight to the stove with the hot embers and firewood. Annie had been carrying the rest of the luggage, and she put it with the rest of their bags on the table before joining Auggie at the squat cast-iron stove.

"What can I do to help?" she asked, as he carefully laid the embers in the open hearth and blew on them.

"This is a bit more awkward for me than with an open fire. Can you tell me if they're glowing yet?"

Annie peeked inside the stove. The blackened sticks of wood were slightly glowing red, so she leaned in and gently blew on them, making them flare up even further. "They're still alive, but they're going to go out soon."

Auggie nodded and handed her the bundle of sticks they'd harvested before. She laid them around and on top of the pile of embers and continued to gently blow air on them. After about a minute, the breeze allowed them to gain enough strength to flare up into flame, and the dried-out bamboo and fronds that they'd gathered caught fire.

"Yes!" Annie shouted.

"Fire?" Auggie asked.

"Yes, of course fire," Annie said as she shut the grate and stood up beside him. "What else do you think I would shout at?"

"With you, I'm not so sure anymore," he said.

Annie rolled her eyes at him, but decided to reach over and kiss his cheek, anyway. "All thanks to you, ninja master."

She expected him to be surprised at her sudden show of affection, but he met it surprisingly well, sliding his arm around her waist, effectively trapping her to his side. "Never heard of a blind ninja master, but if that's the kind of thanks I get, I'll take it."

Annie was at this point so grateful to have a roof over her head, the prospect of an endless supply of drinking water, and the promise of coconuts and bananas, that she didn't immediately rebel at his actions. "I'm just so thankful, you know," she said. "There's been many times in my life that all I've had to drink was water from an old well and food that was so well-preserved, it looked like it belonged in a museum and not on a dinner plate, you know?"

They'd been standing side by side in front of the stove, arms slung around each other's waist, but Auggie pulled away slightly at her confession, which made her look up to him. His reaction seemed slightly incredulous.

"What? Don't believe me?" she asked.

"Just wondering. I'm pretty good at guessing about people, but you don't seem to come across as a recent college graduate who's heading to the islands for one last blast before starting her first job."

Annie literally laughed-snorted at his nearly accurate description at her, which made Auggie's incredulous countenance deepen further. She apparently laughed longer that was normal because he began to completely withdraw from her. "Did I say something completely out of context? Because if so, I have a doctor's note."

Annie shook her head and refused to let him pull completely away. "No, sorry," she said quickly. "It's just, you completely hit the nail on the head. I am a recent college graduate on a last-ditch vacation before I start a new job. Not gonna ask how you knew that, but I guess you didn't guess that I didn't go to college right away, and some of my college years weren't spent on campus."

His mouth dropped open a bit, then shut with a small smile. "You know, I'm dying to ask you to explain all that, but it's much more fun not knowing."

"Plus, I'd insist on quid pro quo, and you seem to be awfully tight-lipped yourself, Anderson."

"Isn't it more fun not knowing, though?" he asked, giving her one last squeeze and a brush of his lips to her hair before heading over to the sink with the pan. He rinsed it completely of the ash and embers that coated it, then filled it half full with the water and put it on top of one of the flat plates on the stove.

"How many minutes are you safe with it boiling?" Annie asked.

"A good minute should do. We've been keeping the empty water bottles, right?"

"No, Auggie, I've been tossing them back out into the ocean with a note in it," Annie said with a laugh.

"Sarcasm now? Okay," Auggie said. "I have a feeling we're going to get along just fine, Annie."

"We have so far," she replied. "If you get that water rolling, I'm going to unpack our gear, and then we can celebrae our housewarming with that bottle of Patron."

"Now you're talking."

* * *

 **Note: I'm dying to just get these two drunk on that bottle of Patron and let nature take its course, what do you think? LOL**

 **On a more serious note, THANK YOU everyone who's been reviewing and offering encouragement. For long-time readers, you've noticed my real-life has had its ups and downs, but right now? Worse than it's ever been. Having this little slice of paradise to play in makes the going a touch bit easier.**

 **Note to NoCaffein: I'll cover the bathroom/shower/all that stuff soon. I don't really like fiction that covers every single time the characters pee and shower, so I usually stay away from detailing it, unless it's vital to the plot. :)**

 **Keep reviewing and make my Monday brighter and easier.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Two months, huh? A lot can happen in that amount of time, and it seems anything you can imagine has happened to me. Including moving. Haven't moved in nearly two decades, yet I had to move home and family very quickly due to serious health issues of a family member. Move went smoothly, but now have two people to care for plus a full-time job. Free time has been nearly nil, and energy levels at an all-time low.**

 **But I did have what's listed below written, so enjoy.**

* * *

The rest of the day continued easily. Auggie stood guard at the stove, disinfecting the well water and refilling their water bottles.

Now that all of their possessions and what they salvaged from the wreck was in their new dwelling, Annie set about making the lighthouse livable. Living out of their suitcases and bags was tempting, but comfort and peace of mind seemed more important now.

Their clothes - plus those of the steward - went upstairs to the second level. Whether or not they'd share that bed come nightfall would be figured out later, but for now, she spread all of the airplane blankets across the foam mattress.

There had to have been someone here recently, she thought. Even with the place locked up tight against the elements, the hard foam should have deterioated over time. She shook her head to clear all the questions that kept popping up and took a deep breath.

Sounds echoing up from the lower level had her heading back down the spiral staircase. "Hey, Auggie. I've got our bedroom set up."

"I like the sound of that," he teased in reply. He stood by the table with their food and water rations laid out. The bottles were refilled with the cooling water, and along with the dozen power bars was one wrapped sandwich and the length of nasturtium she'd gathered.

"That looks kind of meager, but I guess it's better than nothing," she said.

He nodded in agreement. "I'd hate to keep us moving, but maybe after resting a bit, we could check out those banana and coconut trees you said you saw?"

Annie took a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah, sure."

She must have not sounded as upbeat as she tried to feel because he rounded on her. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, but winced as even she heard the slight whine in her voice.

"We can rest, Annie, that's no problem. There's no use in pushing yourself too hard. You'll collapse."

She had to agree with him. "I know. It's just, I'd rather get everything done while I still have the energy."

"Tell you what," he said. "Why don't we take the afternoon off? Take a nap. Couple hours. The sun'll be less over our heads, and then we can go foraging for supper."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she replied. "But I call the bed."

"Relegating me to the couch already?" he asked.

"You'll live," she said, giving his shoulder a caress and a tap before heading back up the staircase. "Besides, you probably snore, and I'd hate to have to kick you while you're asleep."

* * *

Annie wasn't sure how long she slept, but the squares of window light had moved quite a ways across the floor when she woke. After taking a joint-popping, full-body stretch, she slid her shoes back on and headed back down the spiral staircase.

Her head had just cleared the opening when he came into view, and she nearly stumbled at the sight. Thankfully, her hand reflexively gripped the railing. Auggie stood at the sink, barefoot and shirtless, his jeans hanging low on his hips as he bent and dipped his head under the flow of water gushing from the pump.

Then he straightened, and using his tee as a makeshift towel, used it to dry off his face and shoulders. Droplets fell from his hair onto his shoulders, forming rivulets as it flowed down his back and over that tattoo she'd seen last night.

An appreciative smile curved her lips, and whether it due to lack of food or sleepiness, her lips pursed, and she whistled, long and low.

He started slightly at the sound, but then turned and pulled the now-damp shirt over his head, pulling it down his torso and ending Annie's eyefest.

"Have a nice nap?" he asked.

The question pulled Annie's eyes back up to his face, and she continued down the stairs. "Yep. Guess I slept a few hours, huh?"

His fingers went to the watch on his wrist, feeling around the face of it. "It's close to 5:00. You ready to head on out?"

"More than ready. I kept dreaming about pina coladas."

Auggie laughed, "Well, I don't think we can whip up any of those, but you ever have coconut-flavored tequila?"

"No, but I'm intrigued," she said, coming up to him. "Think they got a lime tree or two here, as well?"

He picked up his cane and unfolded it. "Thought we were supposed to gather for sustenance, not ingredients for mixed drinks."

"There's no reason we can't do both, is there?"

"You know what? Right now, I can't think of one."

"Then let's head out," she said, tapping his arm with hers until he grasped it.

A few minutes later, they were out of the sunshine and making their way through the trees. Annie kept in mind the layout of the place she'd seen from the top of the cliff and navigated their way expertly.

* * *

The sun hung low in the sky by the time they'd broken back through the trees and crossed the clearing. They'd taken the empty backpacks which were now bulging with the coconuts and bananas they knew they'd find, but also a plethora of other wild edibles, including bay grapes and figs.

Though she was far from starving, Annie couldn't help inhaling one of the bananas and a fig or two. It'd been nearly two full days of nothing but a couple of stale ham sandwiches and a dense protein bar, and her mouth was still salivating at the prospect of fresh fruit.

The coconuts, on the other hand, hand to be picked and put in the bag whole. Neither of them wanted to exert the energy it'd take to crack one open right then and there.

"I don't know about you, Auggie, but I'm wanting to grab that bottle of Patron and enjoy the sunset with some of these grapes."

"That's one of the best ideas I've ever heard, Annie."

* * *

 **A/N And, of course, this website loves to go down at a fairly consistent rate. So excuse any formatting problems. I had to cut and paste the text instead of uploading.**

 **Thanks for your continued interest and please review.**


	14. Chapter 14

The sun's direct rays were less harsh as it began to sink back into the ocean, but Annie still felt its warmth as she stepped out of the lighthouse. Their foraging had done a number on her clothes, so she'd excused herself to change into one of her tank dresses she'd brought for the trip. Sleeveless and floating to her knees, she'd meant for it to be a swimsuit cover, but it didn't really matter now how she dressed, she thought.

Auggie had changed shirts, as well, and held the bottle of liquor in one hand while the other curled around Annie's elbow. He'd thrown one of the blankets over his shoulder, while Annie carried the grapes.

"I thought we could set the blanket on the rocks here close to the edge so we could catch the breeze, and I could watch the sunset," Annie said.

He nodded his approval, so she headed for one of the smoother portions of the stone. She took the blanket and laid it down, then guided Auggie onto it before plopping down herself. "I so wish we had glasses for this."

"And bowls and plates and silverware," he added. "But I dunno. Sometimes it's good to go a little primal, don't you think?" With a deft hand, he pulled the rounded cork out of the top and put the bottle up to his lips. "Saúde!"

It took Annie a few seconds to realize that he'd wished her cheers in Portuguese, and she laughed a little as he handed her the bottle. "Saúde!"

The liquid went down smooth, lighting up her mouth and throat, and she nearly moaned at the sensation. "I needed that."

"It is the best. I've dusted off enough bottles in my lifetime to own stock in the company," he said with a laugh.

"So, how much more Portuguese do you speak?" she asked.

"Caught that, did you?"

"I'm fluent in several languages, and that's my favorite one. How about you?"

He held his hand out for the grapes, and Annie pulled a few from the bunch and gave them to him.

"I've traveled around a bit and read that Portuguese is the second-most spoken language in Bermuda, so I picked up a few phrases, you know, just in case I needed them for the trip."

Annie took another mouthful of tequila, then passed the bottle back over to him. "I dunno. I'd think all you'd have to do is smile and stumble a bit, and the local beauties would fall over themselves to give you a hand."

He laughed, then took a drink, before corking it again. "Not sure about that. Seems my game is off a bit."

"Because I didn't fall for it? Don't tell me, it was the first time?"

"No, I'm not that much of a Don Juan, but you know," he said with a shrug to his shoulders. "Want to tell me what we're looking at here?"

The change of topic was so sudden, that Annie gaped at him for several seconds before shaking her head and looked out towards the horizon. "Water. Lots and lots of water. Some birds flying around – I have no idea what kind they are. There's not a cloud in the sky, so the sun's only kind of orangey gold as it's going down. I'd say we have about an hour until it sets."

He nodded, but didn't respond. Annie couldn't tell if it was her jibe at his flirty behavior before or their current behavior, so decided to just back off for the time being and relax. They'd gotten a lot of work done all day, and despite her nap and the alcohol, she still felt exhausted and on edge.

As she gazed over the edge of the rocks to the sun sparks glittering over the water, Annie's tired mind looked past what she should have been doing for the next two weeks and what would happen after if she didn't present herself to Camp Peary. It was a big step, and one her sister would probably say showed she had finally grown up, but Annie felt it was the right time to buckle down and do something important in her life.

Now all that might come to naught, she wondered. She'd signed a contract, an official federal government piece of paper, and now she was in danger of breaking her word even before she'd raised her hand and took an oath.

"Auggie?"

He swung the bottle of tequila back at her, but she chuckled and said, "No, that's not it. Is being AWOL only applicable to the military, or is it civilian government jobs, too?"

His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he swung his head around towards her. "What are you talking about?"

She opened her mouth to rephrase her question, but slammed it shut again. Then, shaking her head, she reached over and slid her hand into his. "Nothing. My mind's just racing. With everything's that happened, you know, and the Patron certainly isn't helping."

His lips tipped up at her touch, and he interlaced his fingers with hers. "Do you require more or less of it?"

"If I say less, that'll just make me worry about our situation even more, but…"

"Let's relax, Annie," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. "We've done as much as we can, and if we think of anything else, we'll do it tomorrow. Right now, it's you, me, this blanket, this bottle of tequila, and this sunset."

For a blind guy, Annie thought, Auggie had the most expressive eyes she'd ever seen, and right now, they were showing an emotion separate from the teasing, flirting behavior he'd shown before. The setting sun lit his face with a warm glow, but she could tell that a warmness also came from within him, and right now, all she wanted to do was curl up in his arms and let him take the brunt of the weight of the world off her shoulders for a while.

Releasing his hand, Annie scooted closer across the blanket towards him and leaned into his side. Thankfully, he took up her not-so-subtle hint and wrapped his arm around her shoulders so she could rest her head on his.

"We're going to do just fine, you and me, Annie Walker. I promise you."


	15. Chapter 15

The strong feel of Auggie's arm around her shoulders allowed Annie to relax, both in mind and body. She took a deep breath, inhaling both the salty air that wafted over them with the breeze and the pure scent of the man holding her close. In any other situation, she knew exactly where this scenario would wind up. A few more drinks, probably a dance or two to whatever band was playing, and an invite up to either his place or hers.

Annie wasn't immune to a flirty guy or a bright smile, and she knew that had she and Auggie met on the island they were both headed for, not the one they were stranded on now, that she wouldn't have brushed him off so easily.

And, given how his fingers were now caressing her upper arm, he hadn't been put off by her abrasive attitude since yesterday morning. Maybe another time, she thought, when they weren't as traumatized or wondering where their next meal was coming from.

"The sun's hit the horizon," she said softly. "You know, no matter how many times I've tried to watch it set completely, something always distracts me, and I miss that final moment when the light disappears."

"Nothing here to distract you but me," he remarked, while his hand that'd been idly caressing her upper arm squeezed her bare skin.

"But you wouldn't do that, would you," Annie teased. Her body gave the slightest of shivers at the caress, but she kept her eyes on the horizon. The perfect circle was being swallowed by the ocean, millimeter by millimeter.

"Well, normally, maybe, but considering that we've only got each other to rely on here, it wouldn't do me much good to make you mad, now, would it?"

"Very wise," Annie said.

"I thought so."

Silence ensued for the next few minutes as Annie fulfilled her dream of watching a complete sunset without distraction. When the last glimmer of orange/gold disappeared, she sighed deeply and smiled. "Now, that was beautiful."

"One last shot to toast the night?" Auggie asked, holding the bottle of Patron out to her.

"Maybe a sip. I've lost count of how many I've taken already."

"We've both had four drinks, and unless you can chug tequila, I'd say we were probably safe."

Annie reluctantly sat up off of his warm shoulder and took the proffered bottle. Given the shape of the glass, it was kind of hard to tell how much was gone from it being full. "Well, it's not as if I have to drive home now, is it?"

"That's my girl."

They both took one final drink, and Auggie recorked the bottle. "Did we eat all the grapes?"

"About a half an hour ago."

With the blanket folded, they strolled, arms intertwined between them, back into the lighthouse. The open door and windows let in the now-twilight, and Annie blinked at the dusky shadows. "I hadn't thought about this, but what should I do about light for myself once it gets dark?"

"Well, I've memorized the layout. You could just hop on my back, and I'll make sure you don't trip on anything."

"Though I am tempted at your offer, I think I'll just use the light on my phone to find my way around until I memorize the layout, as well."

"Pity," Auggie murmured as he stowed the liquor with the rest of the foodstuffs.

"I heard that," Annie said. "I'm just going to go change out of my date duds. Be back in a minute."

A few minutes later, she descended the stairs, dressed more comfortably, phone in hand. "You know, I was thinking that it's a good thing it never gets really cold around here."

"Nope, never gets below 50, as far as I remember reading. And despite the direct sun, it never really got out all that hot out."

While Annie lounged on the couch, Auggie took his turn changing clothes. The few moments alone gave Annie time to think. Despite having shelter, water, fire, and food – and even with the dulling of her anxiety via the tequila – she couldn't help but worry and wonder.

She was so used to being in charge of her situation and even if she were thrown a curve, there was always a way out. 26 years old, and she felt like a helpless toddler. If Auggie hadn't been on that plane with her, with his guidance, strength, and knowledge, she wasn't sure she'd be able to make it past that first night without breaking down mentally.

The thought brought a scoff out of her throat. Here she was, making plans to be a secret covert agent, and she couldn't even imagine herself making due on her own.

Before she engaged in a full-on pity party, Auggie shouted at her from upstairs. "Hey, Annie, give me a hand?"

"Anything wrong?" she asked, ascending the spiral staircase.

"Not sure where your clothes end and mine begin," he said with a chuckle, motioning to the opened drawers of the dresser Annie had stowed their clothes in.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I took the left ones, and put yours in the right."

"Got it. Just didn't want to mistakenly put on one of your t-shirts." He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off. Annie got another visual flash of the elaborate tattoo that stretched across his shoulders. Before she could give in to the urge to reach out and trace the design, she turned and headed back to the staircase.

"I was thinking, maybe I could check through the lighthouse windows for any lights on the water."

"Good idea. Just, be careful."

"I will. I just want to have a look," Annie said, ascending the stairs as Auggie's hands went to the button on his pants. Either he's trying to tempt me, she thought, or he's just oblivious to the fact that I could be ogling him. Not the time nor the place, she told herself. It wasn't even 48 hours since they'd met each other, and she didn't really have the strength to deal with a sexual relationship at the moment.

Once she reached the landing of the top of the lighthouse, which was brighter than the other two floors due to the walls of glass, her eyes immediately went to the horizon. The height of the building gave an unobstructed 360-degree view of the Atlantic Ocean. Using the sunset as a guiding point, Annie swept her gaze across the horizon, half-hoping and wishing to see a ship or boat or even the glimmer of light that would signify they weren't alone in the world.

Nothing.

Not even a hint of anything other than water. She sighed and walked back around to the staircase, only to find Auggie at the base, his head angled up towards her.

"I didn't see anything," she said, walking back down to him.

"Maybe tomorrow, then," Auggie said, an easy smile softening his face.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, Auggie hadn't moved, and she wound up only a couple of inches from his shirtless, lounge-pants-wearing body when her feet hit the floor. The exhaustion, disappointment, and alcohol seemed to hit her all at once, and she leaned into his body, wrapping her arms around his midsection while laying her head on his chest.

"I know you keep telling me we're going to be okay, Auggie, but….."

"Shh," he interrupted, his arms coming around her back. His head dropped, and he brushed a kiss against her hair. "We will, I promise you. We will get rescued, and we will get back to civilization."

She chuckled, "Tonight, I choose to believe you."

"Only tonight? Must be losing my touch."

Her shoulders shook with laughter before a yawn overtook her. "I need to get some sleep. I guess you're not going to take the couch again, huh?"

"Nope."

"No funny business, mister."

He laughed, "Even if I had the energy, I wouldn't think of it."

Then, for the second night, the only two humans on the island lay down for their rest, while the island settled into a slumber as darkness lulled it to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N A second night in the books. May I say a deep and heartfelt THANK YOU to every single one of you readers? Even without my being able to update as quickly as I want to, you all are hanging in there and giving new reviews. (2 this week!)**

 **I have not forgotten about our favorite couple stranded on this strange island, and think of them often. I only wish I could have a few more hours in the day to dedicate to writing as I so WANT to do. Ah, well. Such is life.**

 **Much love and kisses! Remember to keep up the reviews and messages! mwah!**


	16. Chapter 16

The second morning that greeted Annie and Auggie was vastly different than their first. Where they lay on a rough slab of bamboo limbs the previous night, a bedstead with somewhat still soft foam and layers of airplane blankets almost felt normal.

For Annie, though, another thing was vastly different. Used to sleeping alone save for the handful of times she's hooked up with others, the feel of a hard body aligned with her back and a strong arm around her waist was…..not unwelcome. Auggie's breath – even and low – blew against her neck, making her simultaneously warm and shivery.

She breathed deep, reveling in the strength and safety she felt right then. Given what faced them in the day ahead, she'd take any type of strength at the moment, even if it was through someone else. The slight movement of her inhale, though, seemed to have been too much as Auggie moaned slightly. His arm tightened around her middle, dragging her body across the few inches that separated them until her body was completely flush with his.

Whoa, cowboy, Annie thought, as her body went from feeling safe and secure to on the verge of arousal. His whole body felt hard and warm against hers, and she fought a losing battle against sinking into that heat.

Just as she was arching her back to press her lower half more solidly against his, a stray thought came to her. What if he was still asleep? What if he thought she was someone else? They were in enough of a predicament without adding embarrassment in the mix.

In the minute it took her to think through it all, Auggie had responded to her inaction and slid his hand under her tank and up toward her breast. The feel of fingertips touching her all-too-responsive nipple jerked Annie from her thoughts, and her hand jerked up to grab his wrist through his shirt.

"Auggie!"

It came out as a startled whisper, but it was loud enough to rouse him.

"Mm."

Well, he knew he was in bed with someone, Annie thought, as his body flexed into hers. Fighting the temptation to let go of his hand, she said louder, "Auggie!"

"Wh – what?" His body jerked again, but this time away from her. "Annie?"

"Yeah, it's Annie. Umm – good morning."

"Morning."

She couldn't see his face, but he didn't seem to want to move any further away from her.

"Is there a reason why you're holding my hand onto your chest?"

Annie let go of his wrist quickly, and he slowly removed out from under her shirt, then turned onto his back. She almost whimpered at the sudden loss of heat.

A minute of silence stretched between them as Auggie lay on his back, and Annie on her side facing away from him. She was trying her hardest to get her body to come down from the high of almost-intimacy and didn't want to move in case she'd rub up against part of his body and lose the fight altogether.

"So," Auggie said, his voice rough before he cleared his throat. "Sleep well?"

Given their positions a few moments ago, a chuckle escaped Annie's throat at his nonchalant greeting. "Very well, considering I seemed to have brought my own heating blanket with me."

He laughed, as well, and Annie felt him sit up. "At your service, Miss Walker."

Glancing up at the leaded glass windows, Annie saw a gray sky, and wondered if it was cloudy or if the sun hadn't yet risen. Well, only one way to find out, she thought, as she stretched out completely and stood up out of the bed. Though rudimentary, the wooden frame topped with a piece of foam and wool blankets gave her a full night's sleep with no bodily cramps.

She adjusted her sleep tank back down around her body as Auggie rummaged through the dresser drawers and pulled out some clothing. "See you downstairs?"

"Yep. Maybe we can crack into those coconuts this morning."

He hummed a response then, with carefully measured steps, moved over to the circular staircase and walked down.

* * *

It took a bit longer than Annie would have liked to get the coconuts open, but with Auggie's knife, strength, and a couple of whacks with a large stone she found outside, the brown circular balls were cut open, the liquid drunk, and now they sat on the couch, nibbling on the sweet inside flesh.

"Mm, I don't think I've ever eaten fresh coconut before," she said.

"Don't know if it's something you want to do on a regular basis, given all the effort that it takes to get the darn thing open," Auggie replied.

"That I'll agree with. Much easier to buy it in the bag at the local grocery store. And hey, now we've got cups or bowls or whatever, so that's a plus."

A rush of moist air blew through the open front door, and Annie got up to check the weather. The grayish skies she'd seen earlier when she woke hadn't seem to have dissipated. The air was warm, but just as she thought, the perfect blue sky that'd been over them the past two days were now cloudy and dull.

"I have a feeling we're going to be stuck inside today," she said as a mist of rain blew in her face.

"Bad weather?" Auggie asked, coming up behind her.

"Doesn't look too bad, but it's gonna be wet and windy out today." She sighed, then stepped back into the lighthouse.

"Good thing we got enough food yesterday to last a bit."

"True. So, what do you want to do until the weather clears?" she asked.

"I'd like you to help me with a favor, if you wouldn't mind," Auggie said. "Is it possible to move the furniture around a bit? Make it easier for me to get around?"

Annie shrugged. "Sure, no problem. The couch, right?" she asked. She'd noticed that it was against the wall, but the end of it was nearly bumping up against the exit of the circular staircase.

He smiled. "For starters. We could also put this table over by the sink. The bigger the open space is between things, the easier it is to move around."

They started with the table, which moved easily despite it being weighed down with their foodstuffs and supplies. Next came the couch, which was less easy to move due to its simplistic design and low profile.

"What if we just scoot it along the floor?" Annie asked.

"Good idea," Auggie replied. "I'll pull, you push and guide, and we'll get it around beside the door."

"Sounds good. On three? One, two…"

On the silent three, they began pushing and pulling the heavy piece of furniture, Annie nearly bent double to put her weight into it. As such, her eyes were to the floor, and as the couch slid across the stone floor, something beneath it made her call out.

"Auggie, wait."

"Too heavy for you to push? Maybe we should both just get on one side," he said, standing up straight from his end.

"No, that's not it. There's something under the couch. Keep pulling."

He shrugged, and with a few grunts and yanks and pushes, the couch was across the room. Annie stared at the place where it sat, her mouth curling up into a smile. "Boy, this place just keeps on giving up its secrets, doesn't it?"

"What is it? A treasure chest?" Auggie asked, laughing.

"No, a trap door," she said, not quite believing what she was looking at. "A wooden trap door with a recessed ring set within the stone."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Well, let's open it up. This place hasn't let us down so far."

* * *

 **A/N That scene in the bed had me laughing as I wrote it. Hope you guys liked it, too, though I was utterly tempted to just have them go at it.**

 **Also, a trap door? The light house has a basement? What's in it? Why was it hidden? I know, 'cause I've thankfully got the story outlined, surprisingly. I hope to keep moving with this so all of you lovely readers and reviewers aren't left hanging too, too long.**

 **THANK YOU everyone so much for sticking with me on this. I appreciate you more than you know.**

 **Review, please!**


	17. Chapter 17

Annie stood there, staring at the wooden block set flush in the stone floor. Her mind raced with all sorts of ideas of what might lie below. She must have remained quiet for too long, 'cause the sudden feel of Auggie's hand on her elbow made her jump.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked.

"Huh?"

His head tilted and he smirked. "I know you're dying to check it out."

"Well, of course I am, but you yelled at me the last time I went wandering away on my own."

"I promise not to yell at you, okay?"

"Deal. Let me get my phone so we can use the light. I doubt there's any windows down there."

A few seconds later, the both of them kneeled down on the stone beside the trap door. Annie pulled the ring up out of the hole it set into and lifted. The trapdoor barely budged up a half an inch before settling back down with an echoing thud.

"Probably going to need a hand here," she huffed.

Auggie nudged at her, and she moved over to give him better access. With a pained grunt and an impressive flexing of every muscle in his arm, the door lifted, and as soon as it was clear of the floor, Annie grabbed the edge of it. With a shift of hands, they both were able to push the slab of wood up and over until it leaned back against the wall. The screeching of iron hinges echoed throughout the lighthouse, making Annie wince and shudder at the aural assault.

They both reeled back as stale air rushed past them and through the open door.

"Ugh, let's step back a bit until it airs out," Annie said, waving her hand in front of her face. "Won't be checking that out any time soon."

They both stood and walked to the other end of the lighthouse and leaned against the table.

"So, what do you think is down there?" Annie asked after a minute had passed in silence.

Auggie shrugged. "Who knows? There was nothing left out anywhere else. Even if it's still a livable area, it's probably empty."

Annie scoffed.

"What?" Auggie said.

"You have no imagination," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Come on. Out of anything in the world, what do you think is down there?"

He smiled and leaned his head back. "A bathroom, so we don't have to keep going out into the woods."

Annie laughed aloud at that. "Oh, that's a good one. I think, let's see, there's a store room down there full of food manufactured to last 100 years. We can have a feast, like Thanksgiving!"

He shook his head, "There's no food that'll last that long. If it's packaged correctly, maybe 20, 25 years, but that's iffy. Honey's about the only thing that never truly goes bad, as far as I remember."

"Auggie!" Annie huffed. "Must you bring logic into every conversation?"

"Fine, just pointing out a fact. Let's see." He thought for a minute, bringing his finger up to tap his chin in contemplation. "It's an underground cave, like in 'Batman,' where an amphibious vehicle sits, fueled up and ready to go. We'll be in Bermuda by night fall!"

Annie laughed. "That's more like it, and totally awesome. Let's see, it's my turn."

Any fantastical idea she could've thought up, however, was drowned out by the sound of fat rain drops as they hit the stones outside the lighthouse. The sky had darkened from when they woke up, and now the clouds had opened up.

"Is that rain?" Auggie asked.

"Yep. Wanna go play in the puddles?" Annie asked with a laugh.

"Actually, I thought we'd put any possible container we have outside so we can have fresh water to drink."

"Oh, right."

Annie moved quickly to gather up every empty bottle they had, plus the pot they'd be using to boil water and a couple of others out of the box. "Let's put out our dirty clothes, so they at least get a good rinsing out," she said.

"Way ahead of you," Auggie said, halfway up the staircase. "Be down in a minute."

She continued to gather the bottles into her arms and, when Auggie came back down with an armful of clothing, she took those, as well. "No use both of us getting wet. Let me get these set up, then we'll check out the basement, okay?"

Auggie shook his head. "Neither of us have had a shower for a couple days now, except for splashing water on our faces in the sink. Unless it's thundering and lightning, I'm going out there."

Annie watched, mouth dropped open, as Auggie peeled his t-shirt off and kicked his shoes off. She quickly turned and headed to the open door with her parcel of clothes and water containers. After her erotic wakeup this morning, she knew exactly what lay under Auggie's clothes, but knowing what was there and getting the full monty were two different things.

Before she headed out, she kicked off her shoes. It'd be difficult getting them dry again, anyway, she thought, as she ducked out into the rain. Auggie was right about one thing, though, she though. She was feeling grubbier and grubbier as the days went on, and here Mother Nature was giving them free shower access.

She sat the pots and bottles out, and they quickly began to fill, so she went ahead and went over to a nearby bush to lay the clothes on. There were only a couple of changes of clothes so far, but they had to take what was given to them when it was offered.

Once done, she stood and raised her face to the rain. By now, she was soaked through, and she ran her hands through her hair. It wouldn't hurt to grab her shampoo at the very least, she thought. All the trips through the woods had done a number on her long, blonde hair.

As she turned to head back into the lighthouse, she was startled by a loud shout that came from within, then, to her surprise and delight, Auggie came running out, buck naked, arms raised high and whooping.

Rain dripped into her gaping mouth as she watched him, bare-assed, stand in the middle of the rainstorm, arms raised high, getting soaking wet. The absurdity of the situation soon got the best of her, and she began laughing.

Auggie's head turned at the sound, and he smiled wide. "Come on, Annie! When else are you going to have an opportunity like this?"

"Never, I guess," Annie replied, and she began to strip.

* * *

 **A/N I swear, I'd planned on this chapter of them delving into the lighthouse's lair, but I'd set up that it was cloudy and threatening rain and thought, well, they should gather the freshwater falling from the sky and rinse out their clothes, and it went from there. The naked Auggie bit came right at the end as I was writing. And who's gonna pass that up?**

 **Thanks for hanging on with me and enduring. Keep up the reviews and messages. I'm still here, I swear.**

 **OFF NOTE: Bizarre idea for a story, but it won't leave my head. I'm a fan of Mary/Marshall relationship on In Plain Sight. Especially love Frederick Weller's looks and voice. Okay, I was watching one of my fave movies, Persuasion, with Rupert Penry Jones, and his character's name is Frederick Wentworth. Immediate click went on in my head. How about a weird mixing of the two? Persuasion-like fanfic (with same storyline), but with Mary/Marshall, and cast of In Plain Sight as the characters? It won't get outta my head.**


	18. Chapter 18

Annie Walker was nowhere near a prude or wallflower and immediately began stripping off her own clothes and placing them on the bush beside the others.

Soon she was naked as the day she was born, and with a whoop that rivaled Auggie's, she threw her hands up and ran around the clearing. It was better than any shower she'd ever experienced in her life – including that 7-showerhead piece of heaven she had once.

Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she raised her face to the drops and inhaled deep, taking in the moist, fresh air deep inside her lungs. "God, that feels good," she shouted out. "Remind me to thank you later, Auggie."

"No problem," he shouted back.

Annie risked a glance over to him and smiled as he seemed to be doing the same as she, standing and allowing the fresh water to run over his face and down his chest. And though she was sorely tempted to have a "good look," since he wasn't able to return the favor, she didn't let her eyes drift further than his sculpted chest. As good as it looked yesterday when she caught a glance of it while he was dressing, it looked even more lean and muscular sopping wet.

Forgoing a proper wash for now, Annie settled for running her hands through her hair, allowing the rain to soak it thoroughly and scrubbing her scalp. She was contemplating lying on the stones when a distant rumble of thunder startled her.

"Time to head back in," Auggie said, reaching a hand out to her. Annie clasped it, their wet palms gripping each other as she led them back into the lighthouse.

Soon they were out of the rain and dripping onto the cool, dry stones. "Let me go get something to dry ourselves off with," Annie said. "The trapdoor's still open."

"Thanks," Auggie said, running a wet hand over his even wetter hair.

Careful not to slip on the floor or stairs in her damp feet, Annie quickly gathered a few t-shirts to use as makeshift towels and a change of clothes for each of them. Soon they were dressed, and in lieu of a hair dryer, Annie dried her hair as best as she could, then braided the length of it so the wet locks wouldn't drip into her face.

The rumble of thunder that'd forced them out of their fun continued on around them. "Mother Nature's not very nice, spoiling our fun," Annie grumbled.

"Two minutes or two hours, I'll take whatever I can get," Auggie replied as he rubbed a t-shirt over his hair. "I remember this one time in the desert, the supply truck was hijacked, and we were without fresh water for over a month."

Annie looked over at him, perplexed at the glimpse into his personal life, waiting for him to continue, but he simply shook his hair and tossed the damp shirt onto the floor with the rest of their "towels."

"Got your cell on you?"

She shook her head of the curiosity Auggie had ignited in her and answered, "Yep. Ready to go exploring."

Auggie sat cross-legged beside the trapdoor while Annie shone the cell's flashlight down into its depths. "Well, looks like a normal ladder down into the hole, and either a stone or concrete floor. All I see is gray."

"Does the ladder look sturdy?"

Annie reached out to the metal brace attached to the wall and gave it a yank. "It ain't moving, so I'd say I'm safe enough."

She stood then, and with a steadying hand on Auggie's shoulder, stood on the first rung. "Wish me luck."

"From what I've noiced of you so far, luck isn't needed, but good luck, Annie."

Blushing a bit from his compliment, Annie took the steps one rung at a time, holding onto them with one hand with the other held the light out. "The wall in front of me seems to be concrete," she said. "Guess whoever made the lighthouse put a pretty solid foundation underneath of it first."

"More than likely. It can't be very tall, though. Are you almost at the bottom?"

Annie took one more step, and then her feet hit the gound which she now saw was the same concrete as the walls. "Yep, I'm completely in now," she said. "Looks to be about six feet deep." She looked up at the door she just climbed through and saw Auggie leaning over.

"Well? What's down there?"

Annie grinned at his eagerness and, holding the light in front of her, slowly turned around. "Wow," was the only word that she was able to express.

Ever since the trapdoor revealed itself to her when they moved the couch, she'd been wondering what lay beneath the abandoned lighthouse. However, all fanciful dreams aside, she assumed it'd be just as empty as the rest of the floors were. She couldn't be further from the truth.

The bright light of her cellphone lit up the interior completely, and her eyes widened as she took in everything. Bulletin boards lined the walls with sheets of paper covering every single one of them. Desks and tables were pushed up against the walls, and as Annie walked towards them, she saw that notebooks and papers covered them, as well. A couple of chairs, kind of rickety by the looks of them, were pushed under.

"Annie!"

The voice echoed down the trapdoor and made her jump and emit a slight squeak. "Yes?" she shouted back.

"You're killing me here. What's down there?"

Annie walked back toward the ladder. "Looks like some sort of war room."

"War room?" Auggie repeated.

"I don't know what else to call it. Never even seen one except in the movies, you know, like in the '50s or '60s, where they'd have paper everywhere and desks and notebooks. It's much more than you'd expect from a lighthouse keeper, I'm telling you that."

"Huh. That's weird. What's on all the papers?"

"I was about to look before you decided to shout at me. Give me a sec."

"Okay, but how about a running commentary? I'm just as intrigued as you are."

"All right."

Annie walked over to the nearest bulletin board and held the light up to them. To say she was confused would be an understatement. "Well, I'd love to tell you what I'm seeing, Auggie, but it looks like a bunch of gibberish to me."

"Gibberish? Is that a new language I'm unaware of?" Auggie joked down to her.

"Ha ha. No, it's just – I mean, I'm fluent in a handful of languages and can at least figure out a dozen more, even if I don't understand them, but this? It just looks like a bunch of letters and figures and markings."

"Nothing decipherable?"

"Nothing readable, no. Maybe it's some kind of code?" she guessed. "There's about six of these bulletin boards full of the same thing. Different papers, but the same thing. This is weird, Auggie."

"And that's it, just papers and desks and tables?"

Annie did another sweep around with her light. "Yep. Tell you what, I'll grab a bunch to bring up. Maybe we can figure it out."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

 **A/N Shoutout to lovely reviewer LillyHalliwell whose recent review gave me kick in the butt to finish up this chapter before any more time passed. I know I left it at a bad cliffhanger last chapter, so it wasn't fair to wait any longer.**

 **Sooooooooo, what do you think? Was the trapdoor room what you thought? I've got the major idea for how this will pan out to the end, so the story's in my head, just need to get it out to you all.**

 **Thanks for sticking around with me on this journey.**

 **Please review.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Auggie POV**

His keen hearing picked up shuffling of papers from the basement/war room as he figured Annie was gathering the documents she said she found down there. For his part, Auggie sat back on his heels and waited for her to return, his mind racing.

He'd been trying to recon since they hit the island where exactly they were, close to Miami, Barbados, or Bermuda itself, but with nothing but a general knowledge that they were flying for about an hour to go on, it was nearly impossible to tell.

Plus, from what he remembered of maps of the area, the entire area from Bermuda to Mexico was dotted with hundreds of tiny islands. And they could be on any one of them.

And what was a small island with an unused lighthouse has now morphed into a secret covert base of some sort? His background dealt mainly with military operations in the Middle East, and his current job with the CIA dealt mainly in the same area, plus Europe. Has there even been any type of unrest in this part of the country in the past few decades?

His mind was deep into memories of the past when Annie called out to him.

"Hey, Auggie, can you grab some of this?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," he said, holding out his hands. She placed what felt like stacks of paper into them, and he sat them carefully to the side. "Need a hand up?"

"Nope, I got it. Don't want to drag you down in with me. It's just a bit awkward."

With a final grunt, he heard a thump as Annie sat down on the floor beside him. "Well, whatever that place is, I doubt it's somewhere they went on a regular basis. It's just a ladder bolted onto the wall. Wait. How in the hell did they get those desks down in there?"

Auggie chuckled and shrugged. "Don't know. In fact, what you found down there has me wondering about this whole installation.

Got everything out?"

"Yep."

"Then I'd like to close it back up, so neither of us falls into the thing."

The hinges squeaked horribly again as the pair slowly lowered the wood board back into its resting place, then got back to their feet. "Why don't you spread out what you found on the table, and you can tell me what we've got?"

Annie had grabbed probably as many as she could carry, Auggie thought, as it took a few minutes for her to spread out the sheets – an entire bulletin board's worth – and a few of the notebooks that were on the tables.

"Well, bringing them up here hasn't helped in deciphering them," Annie sighed as she looked a the papers again. "But, just so you know what you're looking at, want me to describe them to you?"

"Please," Auggie said with a nod of his head.

"The paper's old, but how old is anybody's guess, since that place was locked up tight. I'm just saying it's started to yellow. It looks like it was regular 8x11 plain white paper with handwritten notes on them."

"What type of notes, though?" Auggie asked. "Can you read one out to me?"

"Don't tell me. You're a codebreaker, as well as being a Special Forces soldier," Annie teased, which Auggie responded to with a roll of his eyes and a "come on" motion with his hand.

"Okay, geez, spoilsport."

Annie began reading out what one the papers said, and as she said before while she was down there, it did, indeed, sound like gibberish. Numerals with an odd letter or two mixed in with dashes and periods. What Auggie wouldn't give to have his computer with him right now. Even so, his fingers began repeating the characters as Annie recited them, ghost-typing them onto his palm.

Before long, something clicked in his mind, something small, an echo of a memory, but before he could chase it down and name it, Annie stopped talking. He opened his mouth to shout at her to go on, to continue, but he clamped it shut again. What was he going to tell her? Part of his CIA responsibilities entailed listening to audio transmissions of the enemy and deciphering them?

"Well, that was a waste of time," Annie said. "Did you understand any of that?"

Auggie shook his head. "Nothing off the top of my head, no. And if all that stuff's old, like you said, probably dates back to World War II or something, you know? Kind of out of my league."

"Mm, mine, too," she said. "Guess I'll just stack all this stuff up. Maybe go through it later."

The rest of the morning, the duo alternated between watching the storm blow over through the open door and snacking on the fruits they'd foraged earlier. Annie described what she saw to him, from the color of the ocean and height of the waves as they came in, as well as how the trees bowed and swayed with the wind.

She also, after the first time it happened, notified him of particularly close lightning so he'd be prepared for the boom of thunder that followed. He normally wasn't afraid of thunder, but he was so far out of his comfort zone, the amount of self-control he usually had was lower than normal.

Eventually, the heavy rain, wind, and thunder and lightning blew off back into the ocean, and the sun shone down onto their island again. They'd have to wait for the clothes to dry, but they now had clean water to drink and cook. Other than a freshwater spring, Auggie thought, it was the best alternative to boiling whatever kind of water came through that pump.

As Annie went out to bring the bottles back in and check on their clothes, he sat on the couch and continued thinking about the notes they'd found in the basement. By memory, he began ghost-writing the code, tapping them out onto his thighs with his fingers. It sounded familiar, he thought.

So very familiar, but what was it? He repeated it again, over and over, clearing his mind of nothing but those characters so he could chase the scrap of memory that popped up when Annie had first recited them.

It was probably only minutes he sat there while Annie was outside, but it felt like an hour before he fingers suddenly stilled, and his mouth dropped wide open. He knew what it was. His open mouth curled into a self-satisfied smile. He knew what it was.

"What's that grin all about? Did you finally decide what we're having for lunch?"

Auggie's head snapped up, and he nearly – very, very nearly – started to tell Annie what he'd figured out before he stopped himself. How exactly do you explain to someone, a stranger, practically, that you're a member of the US's top-secret intelligence agency? And by being one of those members, you were able to decode the message found written on decades-old paper and know who wrote it and when and what it was about?

Simple answer to that was that he couldn't. Not at all. So, he tucked that information away in his memory and stood up. "Yep. I say we crack open a coconut or two and have a banana."

"You know, pretty soon, we're going to have to find something else to eat. I'm not sure what a diet of bananas will do to my intestines. You think there's any fish out there we could spear or something?"

Soon, they were peeling out the interior of their coconuts and washing it down with some of the rainwater. Annie began telling him how she learned to spear fish once, and though Auggie was paying attention as well as he could, a small part of his mind was trying to figure out how to use the information he'd gleaned from the code he broke.

One thing he did know, though. They wouldn't be stranded there forever.

* * *

 **A/N Always wanted to switch to an Auggie POV and decided now was the time to do it, as Auggie's expertise, it seems, is going to help them out. And yes, I left it as a bit of a cliffhanger. And hopefully I won't leave you dangling there too, too long. Free time to think and write is precious nowadays.**

 **Please, review, tell me what you think. :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N Here's hoping all of you followers get a notice of this, which didn't happen on Chapter 19.**

* * *

The rest of the day floated quickly by as the pair collected water, then as the sun dried all of their rain-washed clothes, gathered them, as well. Annie's idea of spear fishing or crabbing seemed good to him, and he listened to her extol how she was going to gather a strong stick and, with the help of his pocket knife, hone one end to a spear.

As she talked, a part of his mind was going over what he could do with the intel he'd gathered from the codes. It was an old numbers code used several decades ago when Cuba wasn't quite as friendly as they used to be, and the CIA's direct involvement in those days meant Auggie had knowledge of the kinds of tactics used used to gather and disseminate information. What he hadn't known was that the U.S. used lighthouses as one of those means of operation. Clever, he thought, very, very clever. The light could be seen from miles away, perhaps even the sky, and information could be sent back and forth as innocuous as a flashing lighthouse bulb could be.

But other than a history lesson into the Cold War, he'd also been trying to figure out a way to use the lighthouse again for that purpose. Who knows if it'd work, but seeing that they had no other means of communication to send out a distress signal, it'd have to do.

Now, he thought, how to spin the idea to Annie without letting her know what he knew and how he knew it.

"Well, that's it done," Annie exclaimed, breaking the silence with a bang of what Auggie assumed was her newly sharpened spear against the floor. "Want to come feel if it's sharp enough?"

Auggie smiled. "I'll take your word for it. You're the expert in that field."

"Well, it'd be best if I did it at dawn, so I'll try it in the morning," she said. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Thinking."

"Dangerous sport."

"Har har. You said the lighthouse upstairs was all locked up, but maybe we should look again? If we can get it working even a little bit, it'd be something."

"Hmm."

She dropped down on the couch beside him - directly beside him instead of at the other end - and Auggie decided to try again laying on the charm that'd failed him their first day here. "How'd the knife work for you?"

"Oh, almost forgot to return it," she said.

She picked up his hand and laid it on his palm. "Hope I didn't nick it up too much."

Auggie plucked it off of his palm with his other hand and captured her fingers in his before she could let go. "I'm sure it's fine."

She sighed and seemed to lean into him, and to his delight, didn't pull her hand back from his. "So, what should we get up to this afternoon?"

"Well, though this couch is weirdly comfortable, I was thinking we should have another look at that lighthouse top floor. You said it looked all locked up, right?"

"Yeah, but -"

"This building has been giving up secrets left and right. What do you say we try it out again?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

She pulled herself off the couch, but to his surprise, didn't let go of Auggie's hand, just used the leverage to help him up, as well, and didn't let go until they began to ascend the spiral staircase. Though he'd been up it a few times, Auggie took the stairs slowly. No need to suffer a sprain or broken bone 'cause he rushed too fast.

Through the middle level and up into the upper portion of the lighthouse, they climbed. Annie caught his hand - again - when he came up to the top. "Why don't you just hold onto me while we're up here? There's not much walking room."

"No arguing here," Auggie said with a grin as their palms slid together once again. Beyond his usual flirtatious nature, he did find himself growing more attracted to this spitfire woman. For a few moments, his mind flashed back to that morning when he'd woken to her harsh calling out of his name. At first, he was confused as to where he was and whose body he was molded against - hand included - but soon his predicament hit him, and though he desperately wanted to stay where he was, he forced himself to let go of her.

"So," he said, clearing his throat to clear his mind of lascivious visions, "Want to give me a visual of what all we've got here?"

"Well, there's not much. Just a walkway around a giant glass bulb. the walls are entirely glass, small framed. I can't believe none of them have been broken out."

"What about the giant glass bulb, then?" Auggie said, his mind picturing what Annie was laying out, and what he could tell from his other four senses.

"It's not quite a bulb, like a light bulb. I'd say it's about 8 feet tall, floor to near the ceiling, and it's like it's sculptured glass or something. Here, reach your hand out and feel. I probably suck as describing," she said, reaching their entwined hands out to place his upon the glass.

Auggie immediately went into sensing mode, reaching out with his free hand, as well, and feeling the structure as far as his arms could reach. "It's hollow, right?" he asked.

"Yep."

A smile graced his lips. "Look around, see if there's an open space to reach inside."

He heard her footsteps as she walked around the bulb. "Yeah, right here, on the other side. Let me see - huh, look at that."

"What? What is it?" Auggie said. He wanted badly to rush around to her, but didn't know the layout well enough to not fall on his face.

"It looks like just a good, old-fashioned candlestick. Not sure about the candle in it, but it's a candlestick. Is this what they used to power the lighthouse?" she asked.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Auggie shouted, causing his voice to echo around the small room.

"Ow! Auggie, watch it!"

"Sorry, Annie. Here, come around here, and I'll explain it to you."

Once her footsteps brought her back around to his side, he reached out for her hands, clasping them both in his. "This, Annie, is what's called a Fresnel lens."

"A who what?"

"A Fresnel lens. It's an old-fashioned lighthouse, before they had electricity, of course. A small light, even one candle, would be placed inside. The lens, with all of its facets, would capture the light and shoot it out in every direction. It can be seen for miles away!"

He could hardly contain his joy and happiness at this find, pulling Annie's hands until she was fully upon him, and he engulfed her in a hug. "Do you understand what this means, Annie? We can get the lighthouse going again! Rescued!"

"Oh, wow, really?" she said, her face under his chin.

"Yes, really."

They stayed in that position, embracing and laughing, for a few minutes, before letting one another go. Auggie almost immediately felt disappointed at that fact, but she brought a smile back to his face when she said, "Wait a minute. Exactly what are they teaching you in Special Forces nowadays?"

He laughed, then, as they made their way back down the stairs, he regaled the story of when he was a Boy Scout, and his troop took a field trip to see one, and he was so amazed at the idea of a single candle lighting ships their way home.

* * *

 **A/N Not making up the facts about lighthouses. There really is such a thing as a Fresnel lens, and the way it works. I was almost thinking I'd written myself into a corner with this whole lighthouse thing, then with my research, I'd found more and more info as to how they could get it working. They were around before electricity, ya know. ;)**

 **Thanks to those who did review the last chapter, though fanfiction was buggy and didn't send out new chapter e-mails to the followers. The story is rounding itself out nicely. I'm hoping to push a bit more romance into it before they get rescued so they have a nice memory to go on as they get on with their lives.**

 **Remember to leave a note how you like it!**


	21. Chapter 21

"So, when do you think we should light it up?"

They'd been wandering around the island all afternoon when Annie posed the question. After being lighthouse-bound with the weather, Auggie had wanted to stretch his legs and proposed the walk. "When it's at least pitch black out, and make sure there's no fog or bright moon. Don't want to waste any time lighting it up when there's no possible way anyone can see it."

"Sounds like a plan."

They'd nearly circled the island, Annie leading the way while Auggie stepped carefully and kept a hand on her upper arm. With her talented guidance, he hadn't needed his walking cane since after that first night. He smiled, thinking about it. Maybe it was their forced companionship and trust, but he'd never taken to someone like this since he'd lost his sight those handful of years ago.

And, since they'd had little to do besides the basic necessities of life, it'd given him more than a little bit of time to contemplate his life up until he heard that horrendous noise of the plane cracking in two. From growing up in a house full of competitive brothers to joining ROTC, the Army, Special Forces, CIA, he'd always been the best or wanting to be the best.

That explosion in the desert set him back a bit, but he'd taken the loss of his sight in stride, overcoming it and excelling in whatever he'd set his mind to.

Then life decided he hadn't had enough hardships in his life and ripped the plane he was traveling in into two and threw him on a deserted island. Thank goodness, he thought, that his own personal angel was flying up there with him.

The thought of Annie made him smile again, and his fingers contracted gently onto the toned, smooth arm he was holding.

"Did you want to stop now?" Annie asked, her hand coming up to caress Auggie's on her arm.

"No, just thinking how lucky I was to have survived that crash with you," he said, still smiling. "I thought life had already dealt me some raw deals, but this?" He shook his head.

"We're both lucky. I doubt I'd have gotten this far without you, either."

"You would have made it."

"Right, without being able to create a fire or getting into the lighthouse or creating that bamboo thing we slept on the first night? Yeah, right."

"Well, maybe I did –"

"No maybes about it, Anderson. You brought more than a few skills on this endeavor. And speaking about our first night here, we're almost around to the beach there. We could take a break."

"Lead the way."

Soon enough, Auggie's feet were hitting sand, and the coolness of the shade trees was replaced by warm sunshine. If the clear skies kept up, they'd be able to use the lighthouse tonight.

"Well, everything's still here," Annie said. "Doesn't look like the weather screwed up anything."

"Plane carcass still here?" he asked.

"Yep. Fire pit, the bed frame you built, and the other suitcase I couldn't carry."

Auggie frowned. "I didn't know you'd left a suitcase. Maybe we should take it back."

"Well, if you want," Annie said, leading them both to the shaded bamboo frame that Auggie built. "It's Kris's, and I'd mostly left his stuff in here, taking a few things for us."

"But if we're rescued, I'd like to take his belongings back to his family."

"You know, you're right. We'll take it back to the lighthouse," she agreed. "But now that we're here, I say we do something that I'd been wanting to do since we got here."

Auggie cocked his head to the side. "I'm intrigued. Go on."

"Play in the surf! You talked me into taking a shower in the rain. When are we ever going to get a chance in our lives to have a beach all to ourselves?"

"That is true. Are we getting naked again?"

"You can do what you want, but I'm keeping my underwear on. I'd packed a bikini, but I don't feel like going all the way back to the lighthouse for it."

"Spoilsport," Auggie teased. "I'll keep my shorts on, too, but you're right. We've spent way too much time working. Time to play."

They'd opted to put their clothing on the bamboo bedstead Auggie had built to keep the sand off of them, but as soon as the pair were down to their skivvies, they were running, hand-in-hand, into the softly rushing waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The angle of the island had this part buffered from the push of the Atlantic Ocean from one continent to the next. It allowed the plane's fuselage to gently glide onto the island rather than crash into it, and also allowed Annie and Auggie to forget their troubles for a few hours.

"Annie, you can let go of my hand. I do know how to swim."

"But –"

"Trust me. Just give me a shout if I get too far out, okay?"

He wouldn't normally do such a thing, but Auggie knew he could trust Annie to keep him safe – she'd done an awesome job so far – and he couldn't pass up the opportunity to swim in the ocean, even if it was just paddling a bit on a relatively smooth portion of the ocean.

After swimming a few strokes to stretch out his arms and legs, he flipped onto his back and floated. Everything, all his troubles and worries, seemed to disappear as he did so. Beside him, he could hear Annie swimming, then it seemed she floated onto her back, as well. He reached out a hand for hers, and she clasped it.

As their fingers intertwined, he gave a little tug, and soon they were almost arm to arm and leg to leg as they floated upon the water. "Almost makes you wish you could live here, doesn't it?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Mm, the quiet and free bananas does have its benefits," Annie replied with a laugh.

"I'm serious, Annie."

"I know. But we're alone here, Auggie. And as romantic as it sounds in dreams, I've never felt so out of my element."

"How?"

"Because, as far and often as I've traveled, it's always with a plan, a backup plan, and at least a couple of people who know where I've gone and who to contact when they don't hear from me, you know?"

Auggie laughed. "You're right. A great place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there."

They floated, silently, for another couple of minutes before Auggie felt some water hit his chest. He wondered if it'd started raining again and was about to ask Annie about it until he felt a bigger splash, accompanied by a rather-feminine giggle.

"Oh, we're playing now, are we?" Auggie asked, his arm swinging wide to send a swath of water towards that giggle. It turned into a gasp as the cold water drenched her.

Before she could get in a retaliatory splash, Auggie reached out, hoping to grasp an arm or hand. Once he got purchase, he slid both arms around her and dunked them both into the ocean.

She struggled as they play-fought, but her laughter was as loud as his as they took turns dunking each other. Eventually they paused to catch their breath, but Auggie felt another emotion rising as their giggles diminished. He hadn't swum that far out, and his feet now touched bottom, but they still clung onto each other.

His arm automatically contracted to bring her closer to him, and he immediately felt a rush of her breath across his cheek. He couldn't help himself, and he hoped that she didn't mind, but he leaned toward that breath. His kept his movements slow. He didn't want to scare her off, after all, but he had to know.

With a rush of male satisfaction, his curiosity was slaked as Annie accepted his invitation, and her lips pressed against his. Though they were both thoroughly wet, she was as soft and warm as he'd imagined her to be. With one arm hooked around her waist holding her to him, he cupped her face with the other, tilting it at the precise angle to deepen the kiss.

At any moment, he thought, she'd push him away just as she'd called out his flirtations when they first landed on the island. But then her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and her fingers dove into his hair. Her nails slightly scraped on his scalp, and he was gone.

They continued exchanging kisses, tasting each other, pushing boundaries, until Annie pulled back slightly and tucked her head into his neck. She apparently didn't want to stop what they were doing, however, and Auggie shuddered as he felt her lips and tongue on the sensitive skin.

"Geez, Annie," he groaned, fist clenching into her hair.

She giggled and gave his shoulder one final kiss before pulling back completely. "Wow, that was unexpected."

"Was it?" he countered.

He felt her shoulders shrug. "I don't know. I wasn't sure if you were that friendly with everyone, or you actually, you know –"

"Let's get out of the water first, what do you say?"

She nodded and gave him a quick kiss before twining her hand with his and led them back to the beach and to the bamboo stand, where they sat side by side. Annie never let go of his hand, and Auggie covered hers with his other one.

"Yes, I am that friendly with everyone, Annie, especially women, but it's partly who I've always been, and in the years since this," he said, waving a hand in front of his sightless eyes, "I found an easy smile and a compliment or two gets me a lot further."

"I'm sure it did before all that," Annie said with a small laugh.

"Now who's flirting? But I do like you, Annie Walker, in the few days we've known each other, I've realized that. I don't want you to think I'm playing you or anything."

"I never thought that, Auggie. I just didn't want you to think I was some helpless creature that needs her hand held at the first sign of danger."

At that, Auggie dropped his hands from hers, but she quickly grabbed them back. "Not so fast there, buster."

He laughed, and they sat in silence for a while, as the sun and slight breeze dried them off. Annie then informed him that the sun was starting to get low in the sky, so they redressed and headed back to the lighthouse. Auggie carried their former steward's suitcase, making a promise to himself that he'd personally make sure the man's family received his effects.

* * *

A **/N Finally! These two are stubborn, I swear. Could not figure out how to get them "together" without it sounding forced, ya know? But they're there, and they will soon have the lighthouse shining brightly, and then...**

 **Please review. Loving hearing from everyone.**


	22. Chapter 22

Annie led the pair through the initial path she took when she found the lighthouse, Auggie's hand at her elbow while his other carried the steward's suitcase. She once again guided him with her voice, stopping here and there to grab the odd berry or fallen coconut. Auggie grimaced when she hung a loop of nasturtium vine around his neck. Edible, yes. But delicious? He swears he could still taste them.

"I know, I know," Annie said. "But I thought we could just steep them for some tea. What do you think?"

"Sounds good. Better than warm water and coconut milk," he replied.

"Exactly. Say, you wouldn't happen to know how to make ice, would you? With all your ninja skills and that?"

Auggie laughed aloud. "Funny, Annie. But unless you've found a Freon plant or know someplace that is 32 degrees precisely on this island, we're fresh out of ice cubes."

"It's only been a few days, right? We can go without necessities for a while."

"Definitely. But we're free to grumble about it as we please."

The lighthouse came into view, still standing 3 stories high above the rocky plateau, its metal roof gleaming as the descending sun made it glow. The pair went in and stowed their supplies. Annie handed Auggie a banana while she grabbed the pot and a couple bottles of rain water and headed to the stove.

Despite the generous near-tropical weather, they had been keeping the fire alive in it, banking hot coals, and feeding it since Auggie first got it alight. While Annie experimented with her steeped tea, Auggie settled onto the couch and dug into the banana. He wished at that point one of them were a daily vitamin taker, so they could at least supplement their diet more evenly. But they weren't starving yet, he thought, and the island had enough natural provisions to keep them going for a while.

After several minutes, he heard a satisfied a-ha! come from Annie, and she walked toward him. "I poured it into the coconut halves we saved," she said. "Think of it as a tropical cocktail."

Auggie wrapped his hand around the rough cup and carefully brought the concoction to his nose, inhaling. He wasn't that big of a fan of tea, but it didn't seem to smell as strong as the leaves tasted, so he stuck a fingertip in to test the heat, then took a sip.

"Well, what do you think?" Annie asked, sitting down beside him.

"I've had green tea before, and it sort of tastes like that. Very faint, but flavorful."

"Good, then I'll go ahead and drink mine."

Auggie coughed on the second sip. "Were you using me as a guinea pig?"

"Well, it wouldn't do any good for both of us to be incapacitated, would it?" she asked.

Auggie wasn't sure if she was joking or not, considering how logical her reasoning was. He just shrugged and sat back, sipping the tea. A soft breeze drifted in through the door, and with Annie close by his side, he could almost pretend that they were back in the real world, perhaps sitting in a bar by the ocean.

"So, we've got a few more hours until night fall," Annie said. "I can't think of anything else that we could get done until then."

"Well, we could just sit here, enjoy each other's company, sip on your marvelous tea, and talk."

Annie's answer was to slid closer to him, and with a smile, he transferred the coconut cup to his other hand and lifted his arm. She took the invitation readily, tucking herself up against him. She was wearing a tank top again, and his fingers glided against bare skin as he pulled her against him.

"You've never said anything about your family," she said.

"Eh, not much to brag about. Mother, father, four older brothers. Mom's a teacher, Dad's retired Navy. Mom'll be retiring soon, or so she keeps saying." He let out a laugh. "I think she keeps putting it off because Dad has been making plans for them to travel."

"Sounds perfect."

"Not according to Mom. After decades of dad dragging her from post to post, she says all she wants to do is settle down and live out the rest of her life in one house."

"So she'll keep on working in order to stay home?"

"She'll give in soon enough. You ever hear that phrase 'whither thou goest'?"

"Yeah."

"That's their mantra, I think. No matter what happens, they'll always be together."

He heard Annie sigh beside him as he thought of his parents and brothers and how long it'd been since he saw any of them. "I think when we get out of here, they'll be one of the first people I call," he said, swallowing down a thickness that'd gathered in his throat.

"Tell me more," Annie said.

Over the next few hours, as the sun dove back into the ocean, Auggie told Annie of his brothers, how it was like growing up the baby of the family, and despite being the only girl in the group of six, his mother held firm as the iron hand.

And as the time went on, he opened up more than he had to anyone else – close friends and lovers included – about growing up, and his dreams and ambitions. He wasn't sure why he did it, but there was something about Annie that made him want to impress her, keep her close, and think well of him.

Their tea long gone, he was about to tell her how he won his high school state wrestling championship when she moved away from him.

"Anything wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing. It's just that, it's nearly dark out. We were going to turn the light on up there, weren't we?"

"Oh, oh, yeah. Sorry. You must have fallen asleep with me going on and on there."

"Not at all," Annie replied, grasping his hand and pulling him up off the couch. "I loved hearing about your life. Much different than mine, but I liked it."

She didn't step back as he gained his footing, and he felt her body brush up against his. "Next time, it's your turn," he said.

"Only if you promise not to fall asleep."

"Doubtful."

She pushed up onto tiptoe and kissed him. Before Auggie could reciprocate, she was walking away. "Do you think that candle that's in the bulb is still going to work after all this time?"

Shaking his head to dispel the notion of grabbing her and continuing what they were just doing, Auggie remembered what he'd been thinking about earlier that day. "We can see if it works, but I was thinking about something. You know your flashlight app on your phone?"

"Yes," Annie said, as they climbed the spiral staircase.

"Doesn't it have a flashing part on it?"

"I think so. Never really used it beyond just as a flashlight."

They were in the bedroom now, and Auggie caught her hand before she headed up the second set of stairs. "Mine's in the draw there with my clothes. Grab it out."

She got it out of the dresser and handed it to him, and after unlocking it, he handed it back. "I'll trust you not to look through my pictures, but go ahead and turn the flashlight app on. Okay, isn't there on the flashing portion of it, an SOS option?"

"Oh, my God, yes, there is! I don't know why I never noticed that was there before."

"Good. I was just remembering it myself, but I wasn't sure it was on there. So what I think we could do is put the device where the candle is, point it up, and let the Fresnel lens do the magic of sending our SOS."

"Ahh! You are a genius, Auggie!" Annie said, wrapping her arms around him in a spontaneous hug. He wasn't sure about the genius part, but he'd never pass up a chance to have her in his arms again.

"Let's go try it out," she said. They ascended into the top of the lighthouse, and though Auggie's spatial memory had him moving easily, Annie was moving slower.

"It's gotten pretty dark, huh?"

"Yep. Should we wait till it's absolutely, pitch black?"

"If you don't mind standing up here in the dark with me, it'd be best. We should conserve the phones' batteries in case we have to do this several more times."

They stood silent side by side, Auggie waiting for Annie to tell him when the time was right. He was tempted to tease her about being alone in the dark, but he could tell she was as anxious about what they were about to do as he was.

"Okay, I think we're good," Annie finally said.

"Then light 'er up, Miss Walker. Shade your eyes, as well, or just look at the floor. That thing'll probably be way too bright to look at up close."

He heard Annie take a deep breath, then he smiled as he heard her whisper a countdown. "Three, two, one."

"Whoa!"

"It worked?" he asked.

"I'd say so," Annie said. He heard her shuffling towards him, then a hand grasping at his. "It's on. It's working, flashing away."

"But do you think it's sending the light out? Working?"

"Auggie, not to sound crass or unfeeling, but I'm being blinded here. Can we please go down?"

Obviously it was working, Auggie thought as he led Annie back to the stairs. They slowly made their way down, and Annie let go of her death grip on his hand as soon as they hit the bottom. "Holy crap."

"I'm not going to ask if it worked," Auggie told her.

"I'm pretty sure they can see that on the International Space Station. Thanks for the heads up about not looking at it. I think I had a hint of what life is like for you for a minute or two there."

Auggie could hear the slight distress in her voice, and he pulled her to him. "I should have realized what would have happened. Next time, I'll go up and do it, okay?"

She nodded, her face crushed into his chest.

"You can still see, right? Did it hurt your eyes?"

"No, no, I'm fine. I was looking down at the floor when I turned it on, but still, you know. Then it started flashing."

He nodded, and held her for another minute, rubbing his hands up and down her back.

She took a steadying breath and pulled away from him. "Whoa. It's terrifyingly bright upstairs, but the flashing light through the hole makes it look like a disco in here."

"I think we should go outside and see what it looks like from out there," Auggie said.

"Sounds good to me," she replied. "Then we can toast to our pending rescue with some of that Patron?"

"I like the way you think, Walker."

* * *

A/N Sorry it's taking so long to update. I'd love to write faster, but my free time has pretty much been permanently shortened, and what free time I do have is usually spent relaxing, not hunched over my laptop typing. :) I'll get these two off the island soon, though.

PLEASE REVIEW.


	23. Chapter 23

And so, for the first time in many decades, the sleepy island didn't fade away into nighttime, only lit by the occasional full moon on a clear night. It was lit from within, dashing the brightest light it'd ever put forth in its existence.

Even as the lighthouse was being built all those years ago, and before that, the distant traveler come to rest upon its beaches before moving on, the island had not known such activity. The previous light that shone from it was weaker, a mere blip on its existence. But now?

Now, ever since that horrendous crash days ago, the island bristled with activity, culminating in the monumentous flash of light now beaming across the surrounding waters.

If the island's two occupants knew the history of the island, perhaps they'd take more care, but they had their own worries at the moment.

Auggie stood with Annie outside, their hands clasped. He could hear nothing but the waves crashing into the shoreline and the night-time insects and birds chirping every once in a while. Annie had told him that his idea worked, and the flashing SOS sign was beaming out across the waves. It was a good find, he knew, but given how they had no idea where they were, there was still a chance that no one would see their signal.

He'd remembered that the codes they'd found in the basement were war-time, and he'd deduced that they used the lighthouse to send the signals, but who was watching for them? Who was seeing them now? Though he longed to be rescued, he'd rather it be done by the U.S. or someone friendly to them. All this effort would be for naught if they were captured and held. Hopefully, he thought, someone was out looking for the plane and them all this time, and their SOS signal would draw them in.

"Hey."

Annie's voice next to him startled him out of his reverie.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, giving her hand a squeeze before bringing it up to brush a kiss over her knuckles. "Just thinking, you know, about getting rescued."

"You're not the only one," Anne said with a sigh, taking a step closer to him. He took the hint and draped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her to his side.

"No matter what happens, Annie, we're going to be okay."

"I've been telling myself that all this time, but it sounds better when you say it," she said with a laugh. "How long should we let the light flash like that? It'll run out of battery if we leave it all night."

"Just a bit longer. If there's nothing tomorrow, we'll try again, every night. Even if it takes the batteries out of both of our smartphones, we'll keep it up, okay?"

"Okay."

And so it continued for the next few days. The two stranded survivors kept busy during the day - gathering supplies, washing their few changes of clothes, and keeping drinking water going for themselves. The island's native fruits kept their bellies full, and though Annie attempted to fish with a handmade spear, nothing of any type of edible size seemed to seemed to come near the shore.

Given the brightness of the Fresnel lens, Auggie had taken over "lighting the torch" while Annie kept watch over the vast sea and skies for any sign of rescue. Their closeness and lighthearted banter kept their spirits high, but as the week anniversary of the morning they crashed neared, thoughts began to creep in that perhaps they wouldn't be rescued at all.

Before it came to a head, though, Auggie decided not to let it happen at all.

It was late afternoon, and as usual, they'd had had their supper and were resting on the couch. "You know it'll be a week tomorrow that we've been here."

"A week already?" Annie asked. "It doesn't seem that long, but somehow, I feel like we've been here longer."

"I know the feeling. How about we celebrate?"

"With what? Did you stow away a cake and candles?" she asked with a laugh.

"Nope, no cake, but we can certainly light ourselves up with that bottle of Patron."

"Now you're talking!" Annie exclaimed. "I'd thought we'd conserve it, but so far, nothing's happened that we'd need it for."

"Except getting drunk."

"Right."

The next few hours saw the pair sipping the clear liquid out of their coconut "cups," toasting to anything and everything they could think of. Eventually, they were giggling like teenagers and stealing kisses in between drinks.

Perhaps it was the fact that they were so in tuned with one another that neither noticed how dark it was getting, or the fact that they were no longer alone on the island.

It was Auggie who noticed the sounds first. His hearing had grown much more acute since his sight was taken from him, and the sounds of the island were so distinct that the hum of a motor stood out.

Annie had leaned over to nuzzle her face in his neck, and he whispered. "Shh, Annie, do you hear that?"

"What?" she asked.

"Listen, out there. Do you hear something?"

She went to stand, but he held her still. "Don't just run out here. Listen first."

They sat quiet on the couch, ears trained to the always-open door. The ever-present sound of waves crashing mixed with various insects chirping and the cry of a bird were there, but soon, they both heard it, the rev of what could only be a boat's motor.

"Please tell me you're hearing what I'm hearing," Annie said.

"You hear it,too, right? I thought maybe i'd started having audial hallucinations."

"Nope, that's the sound of a boat motor."

They both sat still, listening in disbelief, as it got closer, and seemed to stop or dock close by where their plane carcass still lay against the rocks. Soon enough, the shout of voices accompanied the engine's rev.

"Hello!"

A smile threatened to split Auggie's face as the obviously American accent echoed up to them. "I think they're talking to us," he said as he jumped to his feet, pulling Annie along with him. They both stumbled a bit as the aftereffects of sipping tequila for the past few hours still coursed through their veins.

But soon enough, they'd both gotten their bearings and raced through the door. It was still light enough outside for them to make their way through the stand of trees and bamboo, along their makeshift trail to the beach where they'd landed and spent their first night.

As they got closer to the beach, Annie begin to yell out, "Hello! Hey! We're here!"

Auggie joined her, wishing at that moment he could see just for the sheer pleasure of witnessing their rescue. "Hey! Hey!"

Soon their feet hit sand, and they continued at a full sprint - as much of a sprint as they could master, with Auggie's hand firmly on Annie's upper arm as he ran along beside her. Any hint of drunkenness he might have had was gone with the rush of adrenaline he was feeling right now.

"Are they here?" he asked.

"Yes! Hey!" Annie shouted again, her feet slowing. "It's the Coast Guard, Auggie."

"Thank God."

"Anne Walker and August Anderson?"

Auggie heard a deep voice close by. "Yes, that's us." He had a full week's beard by now, and he was sure they were both a bit scruffy from washing only in a sink and the ocean for several days.

"Any other survivors?"

He shook his head, and Annie said beside him, "I'm sure you saw what's left of the plane down by the rocks. We don't know what happened to the rest of it or the crew."

"Damn. Well, you two are the two luckiest sons of guns I'd ever met in my life. Stay here and let me radio the information in, okay?"

Auggie nodded and, as Annie's arms slid around him, he pulled her into a crushing hug. "We made it, Annie."

* * *

 **A/N Contemplated leaving them there for a while, but...all stories must come to an end at some point, right? I also had to refrain from bringing in any more subplots, despite my muse's want to include some Bermuda Triangle shenanigans into the mix. :)**

 **So that's it, they're rescued. They're close. They're kissing. But...Annie's due at Camp Peary, and Auggie's got a CIA job to get back to. What, oh, what is going to happen next? tee hee.**


	24. Chapter 24

As the initial man's voice sounded further and further away, Auggie turned Annie in his arms until she was facing him. He knew they only had a few minutes before real life descended upon them. "Hey, listen to me," he said, raising his hands until they cupped her jawline. He swallowed as a well of emotion threatened to choke him. "No matter what happens from now on, I want you to remember and know that you're a kick-ass survivor, okay?"

"Auggie, what are you -"

"And though you like to shrug it off, you're the reason I'm alive right now. You will always have my gratitude and loyalty and - and admiration, okay?"

Annie's hands raised to grip his wrists. "Why are you talking like this? You make it sound like we'll never see each other again."

"They'll likely separate us to debrief, and then I've got my job, and didn't you say you were heading on one last vacation before your new job starts?" he asked. As she nodded, he continued, "We may see each other again, we may not, but I just wanted to tell you that, just to let you know that I - that we -"

For whatever reason, whether it was the tequila or the adrenaline rush of finally getting rescued, Auggie couldn't quite find the words to tell the amazing woman he held in his arms how he felt. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try to calm himself, but it seemed he didn't really need to do anything for Annie took the step closer to him that'd separated their bodies and pressed her lips to his.

He didn't need any further talking, and he quickly wrapped his arms around her and attempted to convey everything he was feeling into the embrace, as well as receive the affection that Annie seemed to be feeling, as well.

It ended way too soon as they were interrupted by a loud voice clearing itself. Annie nearly jumped from his arms at the intrusion, and he groaned internally at the man now speaking.

"I've radioed in that the both of you have been found. Considering it's about to be dark soon, we should be getting going."

"Absolutely," Auggie said. "If we could just get our stuff from the lighthouse?"

"We'll help with that. Miss Walker, if you'd like to wait here, one of my men will accompany Mr. Anderson back and retrieve your belongings."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that's okay. You won't forget anything, will you, Auggie?"

"I promise," he replied, giving her hand one last, tight squeeze before he turned at the sound of another man's voice behind him.

"Mr. Anderson?"

* * *

Annie watched him as he walked away, his shoulders slightly stooped from what she saw as disappointment in his eyes as he spoke to her a minute before. Given how much they'd shared over the past week, why was he acting as if they'd never see each other again, she thought. She had half a thought to follow him and the Coast Guard crewman back to the lighthouse, keeping Auggie in sight for however much time they had left together.

Unfortunately, the man who'd found them there placed his hand on her elbow. "Miss Walker? If you'd come with me. I assure you, Mr. Anderson is in good hands."

"Are you certain?" Annie asked. "You guys do know he's blind, right? I mean, he's capable and everything, but -"

"We know all about Mr. Anderson and yourself, as well, Miss Walker. When the plane didn't reach its destination, everyone set about looking for all of you."

"Oh, okay," Annie said, shrugging off the man's well-meaning hand and following him toward the boat that was bobbing at the shoreline. Another couple of uniformed people were aboard, and as soon as she stepped onto the deck, one of them took her by the hand and guided her to a padded chair.

"Guess you're pretty happy to see us, huh?"

Annie returned the woman's beaming smile, but kept glancing toward the shoreline. Her attention, though, was grabbed again as the woman opened a bag by her feet and began to take out medical equipment. "I'm going to go ahead and get a rough estimate of your health. They'll be able to do a full rundown once we're aboard the main ship."

Annie nodded, "I'm not sure what kind of readings you'll get. We, uhh, were drinking when you guys started shouting."

"Drinking? Alcohol?"

"Yeah, the - uhh, the steward had a bottle of tequila in his suitcase, and we -" Annie's voice trailed off as the memory of the steward, pilot, and co-pilot filtered through her mind. "I guess you guys didn't find the rest of the crew, huh?"

"No, ma'am," replied the officer who'd met her on the shore. "It was believed that the entire plane had crashed into the ocean. Suffice to say, we hadn't been looking for survivors, only wreckage. This island is just a speck on the map. If you hadn't gotten the light going at night..."

His voice trailed off, and Annie swallowed as his words sunk in. Wreckage. They'd only been looking for parts of a plane, and given how only a handful of people were onboard, they probably hadn't put much effort into it, anyway, past a few days.

As the adreneline rush began to wear off, the effects of the alcohol were taking its toll on Annie, and she began to yawn as the medic finished off checking her over.

"It's only been a week, but I'd say you're in pretty good shape," she said, the smile still on her face. "Both you and Mr. Anderson weren't injured in the initial crash?"

Annie shook her head, "It's a miracle, isn't it? We just sort of hit the ocean and glided in till we hit the rocks." She yawned again, covering her mouth. "Sorry."

"No problem. There's a small couch in the cabin, if you'd like to lay down," the medic said.

Annie took the offer, climbed down into the small cabin, and curled up on the couch. A wave of exhaustion overtook her as all the worry and excitement mixed with the alcohol in her system. She'd wanted to stay awake until she was sure Auggie was on board with their things, but once she shut her eyes, she fell fast asleep.

* * *

She was woken by a hand shaking her arm, and she jerked up to see the officer that she'd met on the shoreline.

"Miss Walker? We're at the main ship now. If you could come with me, we'll get you aboard, and they'll be able to take you back to the States."

"What about Auggie? Did he -"

The man nodded, helping her to her feet. "Mr. Anderson is already onboard, and we've taken care of all of your belongings."

"Oh, okay," Annie said, feeling a slight twinge of disappointment. She'd hoped to be able to talk to Auggie again before they reached home.

Unfortunately, once she'd gotten onboard the main boat - he called it a cutter - she was swept away into first a medical room where they'd given her a complete physical, made her list everything she'd eaten and drank over the past week, and provide blood and urine samples.

She'd tried to ask about Auggie, but every person she encountered couldn't give her a definitive answer and just kept asking her more questions.

Once she was in clean clothes - ill-fitting, but not smelling like rainwater like the rest of her outfits were - she was taken to a room with a telephone in it. The nameless Coast Guard member who'd showed it to her said they'd be back to the States by morning, but if she wanted to call someone, she could.

And, once she was on the phone to her sister, Danielle, all thoughts of Auggie were gone. Danielle had known what flight she was on, and when she heard it was missing and presumed crashed, she'd been mourning for days now.

It took a good hour of talking and crying and laughing with her only close relative before Annie had hung up and was taken to a berth to sleep for the night. She'd had a brief thought to ask again about Auggie, but, despite the nap she'd taken onboard the smaller boat, exhaustion overtook her again.

* * *

One year later...

Annie's heart beat loud, nearly pounding out of her chest as she drove through the guarded gate of the CIA headquarters for the very first time. She thought she'd be ready for it, but she also thought she had several weeks to do so, as her time at training Camp Peary wasn't even finished. Though she tried to smile and look at ease and if she belonged there, it seemed every time she did so, it seemed stilted and forced.

The gate guard, the polygraph guy who had the nerve to bring up an old boyfriend of hers, and even the person taking her official ID picture seemed to see through her brave front, and after hours of filling out paperwork and finally taking her oath, she finally had her nerves under control.

She was here to do a job. One she'd trained for for a long time, and one she'd nearly lost the opportunity to even attempt due to a plane crash over a year ago. Studying was over. Traveling just for the sake of traveling to the four corners of the earth was a thing of the past. Time to put her big girl panties on and do what was right, what was correct, and what was needed.

Fate, however, seemed to be looking down on her and chuckling because, as soon as she'd taken her oath and shook a few hands, she was pointed to a door and told that someone would be waiting for her on the other side.

Another someone, she thought. Another officer or operative or support person. She'd tried to keep names straight, remembering them for the future, but her head was swimming at the moment, and she wished she'd had more than one cup of coffee that morning.

But she did as she was told and opened the door.

"Annie Walker?"

That voice. It haunted her dreams. She'd looked for Auggie Anderson for months after they'd parted over a year ago. He'd given her a hug and wished her luck when they left the Coast Guard's custody. Then he'd disappeared from her life.

But here he was, in the flesh, looking more handsome and sexy and happy than she remembered. "Auggie?" she whispered.

He put a finger up to his lips quickly and shook his head a bit. Then in a loud, clear voice, he said, "Hi, Auggie Anderson. I'll be taking you to see Joan Campbell. Follow me."

Her mouth dropped open, and she stood stock still until he began to walk away, and she had to run a few steps to catch up. He seemed to sense that she wanted to talk more, but he held up one finger to stop any further questions.

Annie clenched her hands into fists by her side in frustration, but she took his lead and kept quiet as he led her through the building, chatting inanely about the layout and CIA basic information. She only half-heard, given how most of her brain was swarming with memories of them together.

He started to slow as he came down a hallway and stopped in front of a door. "Joan's right through here," he said.

Then, as she passed him to grab the handle, he dipped his head and whispered, "I never forgot about you, Annie, but they told me when we were rescued who you were and that you were headed to Camp Peary. I had to let you find your own way, because I knew, in the end, you'd end up here."

Annie let out a pent-up sigh at his words, her slightly broken heart eased somewhat. "You could have said something."

He shook his head, "I could have done a lot of things, but once I knew we'd meet again, I knew it was best if I waited. And now you're here."

"Yeah, I am," she said softly, looking up into his expressive, soft eyes. "I missed you."

His eyes shut at her whisper, and he replied, "Not as much as I missed you. Find me after you're done."

"I will."

And with that, Auggie walked back down the corridor, and Annie found herself smiling as she opened the door to Joan Campbell's office.

THE END

* * *

A/N Always meant to end it at this point, when the couple meet in the first episode, but this time, of course, they know each other. Rather intimately. :)

If you're still reading this or just came across it, thanks for sticking by me through all the delays. Sorry again it took so long to finish. Enjoy!

And by all means, review!


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